Steelers JuJu Smith-Schuster, James Conner unlikely to play vs. Bengals

The Pittsburgh Steelers will likely be shorthanded against the Bengals this Sunday. Here’s two prominent starters aren’t likely to suit up this weekend.

Steelers fans everywhere are waiting desperately for this ailing offense to make a surge. Though Pittsburgh is facing a winless Bengals team this weekend, we may need to hold off our hopes for an emerging offense at least another week.

The Steelers struggled mightily to move the ball against the 17th ranked Browns defense on Thursday Night Football last week. Unfortunately, things may not be getting better for Mason Rudolph and company any time soon.

According to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network, JuJu Smith-Schuster and James Conner did not participate in Thursday’s practice, and they are very much in jeopardy of missing Sunday’s game against the Cincinnati Bengals.

Smith-Schuster and Conner are arguably the two most important skill players on the Steelers offense. Without them in the lineup, Pittsburgh was able to put up just 7 points against the Browns offense (which was set up by a big pass interference call to begin with).

Both players are having a down season and have seen their numbers drop significantly since last year. However, that doesn’t mean they aren’t needed – even against a team like Cincinnati.

Fortunately, Diontae Johnson was a full participant in practice Tuesday. If JuJu and Conner are unable to go, his presence on the field would be a welcome addition to a desperate offense.

Both Johnson and Smith-Schuster suffered concussions on plays that were flagged for targeting against the Browns last week. However, Johnson appears to be set to the return quicker than his teammate.

Running back Benny Snell has also been a full participant all week, and will likely take on a bulk of the workload if Conner can’t suit up. Pittsburgh struggled to get anything going on the ground with Conner and Snell out of the lineup over the past few weeks. In their absence, the Steelers looked to Jaylen Samuels and Trey Edmunds to carry the load, but they have been ineffective in doing so.

Based on the current injury report, James Washington and Diontae Johnson stand to be Pittsburgh’s starters at receiver this week. Behind them, Johnny Holton will battle for snaps with newcomer, Deon Cain, and former practice squad receivers Tevin Jones.

Things don’t look pretty on the Steelers offense right now. Fortunately, they are facing an 0-10 football team this week. If they can weather the storm against Cincinnati, they may be able to get JuJu and Conner back in time for their Week 13 revenge game against the Cleveland Browns.