Steelers bitten by the injury bug prior to Week 3 matchup vs Bengals

The Pittsburgh Steelers have been bitten by the injury bug, and Ben Roethlisberger becomes one of its latest victims. 

When the injury bug bites, it bites hard. The Steelers are experiencing this all too well. Despite being forced to place Stephon Tuitt on injured reserve prior to the start of the season, Pittsburgh was one of the healthiest teams in the league. Unfortunately, that is no longer the case just two weeks into the season.

Just hours prior to their Week 2 matchup against the Las Vegas Raiders, it was reported that linebacker Devin Bush and cornerback Joe Haden would both be held out of this game as groin injuries flared up during pre-game warmups.

From there, Pittsburgh’s luck got much worse. Tyson Alualu was carted off the field after just four defensive snaps with what was later confirmed to be a fractured ankle – likely ending his 2021 season. Meanwhile, T.J. Watt played just 16 snaps before missing the remainder of the game with a groin injury.

Sadly, we recently discovered some new injuries that popped up on Tuesday’s injury report as well. Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger apparently has a left pectoral injury that will affect his preparation ability for the game against the Bengals this week, NFL Network’s Aditi Kinkhabwala reports. Pittsburgh’s latest injury report also added Alex Highsmith with a groin issue.

With so many prominent players popping up on the report, we have to wonder what this means for Pittsburgh’s home game against Cincinnati this week.

Will Steelers rest banged-up starters?

It’s still very early in the season, and dropping to 1-2 on the year wouldn’t be the end of the world. This is something the Steelers may be willing to live with.

While Mike Tomlin would love to come away with a victory in this contest, I’m not sure if it’s worth putting his players at risk – and he knows that. Including Zach Banner and Stephon Tuitt, Pittsburgh could be without as many as eight starters for their Week 3 matchup against the Bengals this week.

This certainly seems like a perfect storm to essentially ‘throw in the towel.’ While Pittsburgh obviously won’t try to lose this game, they could choose to rest all of their starters and take whatever comes as a result. The long-term health of their star players is more important than trying to win an early-season game against the Bengals.

There is good news. Most of the players who are currently on the injury report are dealing with groin issues – something that should keep them out just a few weeks tops. In addition, Pittsburgh could be activating Stephon Tuitt at some point in the near future as well.

As the old saying goes, it’s not about how you start, it’s about how you finish. If the Steelers can weather the storm and be healthy late in the season (and hopefully into the playoffs), that’s all that really matters at the end of the day. We wish them luck against the Bengals this week, but don’t be surprised if they err on the side of caution with the health of some of their best players.