It’s time to take a look at who will be playing and who will not during Week 1 at the Washington Redskins. This is the weekly Steelers injury report. Lets hope it’s not as bad like previous years.
Like every year, the Steelers are dealing with some key injuries that will certainly impact the outcome of games. This is not an excuse, for nearly every other team suffers a key injury throughout the course of a season.
As of late, there has been some disappointing news. Although there’s questions surrounding the other stars on the Steelers, there has been some encouraging signs to suggest the team will be fine.
The Bad:
Bud Dupree, LB (Abdomen) Injured Reserve: The Steelers 2015 first round pick Bud Dupree has been placed on the reserve/injured list, per Ian Rappaport. However, it is also believed that Bud can return to practice after 6 weeks, as he was signed after final cuts.
Doing so results in Dupree being eligible to be designated to return, suggesting his injury is not the end of the world.
Arthur will be replacing him at the LOLB position. Although a huge loss, having him eligible to play in week 8 is huge for the black and gold on their quest to 7.
On the up-and-up:
Cameron Heyward, DL (ankle) Day-to-day: Although suffering a high ankle sprain in the 3rd week of the preseason against the Saints, Heyward expects to play in the season opener against the Redskins, per Ed Bouchette:
Steelers DE Cam Heyward has a high ankle sprain but told me, "I'll be there Week One."
— Ed Bouchette (@EdBouchette) August 27, 2016
Although players normally stay on the positive side whenever an injury occurs, he has been listed day to day. Cam’s self proclaimed hypothesis regarding his status should not be in question, according to Missi Matthews.
Markus Wheaton, WR (shoulder) Day-to-day: Wheaton is day-to-day with a shoulder injury suffered in week 2 of the preseason, according to the Pittsburgh-Post Gazette reports. Although limited at practice Wednesday, there is little indication that Wheaton will be out Monday vs the Redskins.
Javon Hargrave, DL (knee) Day-to-day: J-wobble suffered a minor knee injury during practice this week, causing him to leave and not return. Teammate Stephon Tuitt said he left practice early, but knew no details on the rookie. This does not appear serious, as no monumental updates have been made since the injry. Hargrave himself gave an encouraging tweet to Steelers nation in a tweet:
https://twitter.com/Jay_MostWanted/status/773147301065949184
The Steelers list him as day-to-day, but expect to see big number 79 on the field this Monday.
Shamarko Thomas, S (groin) Day-to-day: The Steelers former 4th round pick suffered a groin injury during the preseason game against the Saints. The severity of the injury is not clear, as no new news has come up on the issue. The 25 year old safety is currently second on the depth chart.
The not-so-known players on the fence:
Anthony Chickillo, LB (ankle/foot) Day-to-day: Chickillo suffered an ankle injury in the first preseason game against the Lions, Chris Adamaski of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reports. Although recovered from that, he then injured his foot in the preseason finale against the Panthers. No new information has surfaced, hinting the severity of his injury is quite possibly minor.
Ricardo Matthews, DL (neck) Day-to-day: Matthews is day-to-day with the result from suffering a stinger during the preseason finale, officially listed with a neck injury. His availability certainly puts the depth of the defensive line in question as Cam Heywards backup. If neither can go, the Steelers will have a gaping hole on defense.
Roosevelt Nix, FB (back) Day-to-day: The lone fullback on the Steelers roster’s availability is in question after suffering a back injury. Nothing has come out about it since the initial report, so the severity of this does not appear severe.
Next: Steelers News: Roethlisberger, Brown, Heyward
The rest of the squad:
Daniel McCullers, DT () Questionable, Cody Wallace, C () Questionable, Kevin Anderson, LB () Injured Reserve, Martavis Bryant, WR () Suspended, Le’Veon Bell, RB () Suspended