CB Curtis Brown will miss the remainder of the season due to an ACL injury he suffered at the end of the 3rd quarter against the Browns yesterday. Brown, is a special teamer who has not played in 5 of this season’s games. I expect Isaiah Green will likely get brought up from the practice squad again this week.
There were some false reports after the Browns game yesterday indicating that NT Steve McLendon had suffered a broken ankle. During his press conference a few minutes ago, Coach Tomlin gave an update on McLendon’s ankle, saying that it was sprained. He’ll miss this week due to how short it is, according to Tomlin. “We’ll see if he’s available to us next week”.
Al Woods will almost certainly take the starting role against the Ravens, and Fangupo will likely see some playing time.
Here’s a rundown of the week 12 injury report.
OUT: Stevenson Sylvester (hamstring) and Shamarko Thomas (ankle).
QUESTIONABLE: Brett Keisel (foot), LaMarr Woodley (calf).
PROBABLE: Kelvin Beachum (hip), Ramon Foster (ankle), Heath Miller (not injury related), Emmanuel Sanders (foot), and Fernando Velasco (knee).
Brett Keisel said he did some things in practice today and is hopeful he’ll play on Sunday. It sounds like he has a better chance to play than Woodley does. Ramon Foster said the plan is for him to play on Sunday.
For the Browns:
OUT: TE MarQueis Grey (hamstring).
DOUBTFUL: LB Craig Robertson (knee).
QUESTIONABLE: DL Armonty Bryant (back).
PROBABLE: OL Mitchell Schwartz (Toe), RB Fozzy Whittaker (knee), LB Paul Kruger (finger), P Spencer Lanning (knee), RB Willis McGahee (knee), and OL Jason Pinkston (ankle).
Kelvin Beachum, Ramon Foster, Heath Miller, Emmanuel Sanders, and Fernando Velasco were all full participants in practice today. Steven Sylveser was limited. Brett Keisel, Shamarko Thomas, and LaMarr Woodley did not practice. Woodley was limited in practice yesterday, so it’s uncertain if he had a setback or if he was held back as precaution by the coaching staff.
Matt Spaeth returned to practice today and participated on a limited basis. Afterward, Spaeth spoke with the media. “I did a little individual stuff and some team stuff. Didn’t do a lot, but did a little bit of everything. It felt good to be back.”
For the Browns:
DNP:
TE MarQueis Gray (hamstring), LB Craig Roberson (knee)
Limited:
DL Armonty Bryant, OL Mitchell Schwartz (toe), RB Willis McGahee (knee)
Full:
P Spencer Lanning (knee), RB Fozzy Whittaker (ankle), OL Jason Pinkston (ankle) LB Paul Kruger (finger)
The Steelers have announced that Matt Spaeth is returning to practice today. During his press conference on Tuesday, Coach Tomlin mentioned that Spaeth may return this week after evaluation.
Now that Spaeth is back to practice, the team has 21 days to decide whether or not they will activate him to the active roster. If he was activated then, he would be in the mix to return for the Sunday night match up against the Bengals.
Brett Keisel (foot) and Shamarko Thomas (ankle) did not participate in practice today. Ramon Foster (ankle), LaMarr Woodley (calf), Stevenson Sylvester (hamstring), Fernando Velasco (knee), and Heath Miller (coach decision) were all limited. Kelvin Beachum and Emmanuel Sanders were both full participants. Sanders told members of the media that his foot was fine and that he expects to play Sunday. He said it just got stepped on during the Lions game Sunday.
Coach Tomlin gave his weekly injury updates today, and the outlook was good. He listed Stevenson Sylvester (hamstring) and Shamarko Thomas (ankle) as being further away than anyone else. “Those guys could be characterized at this point as doubtful”, said Tomlin.
Brett Keisel, Ramon Foster, and LaMarr Woodley are all considered to have a legitimate opportunity to participate in this week’s game, but their prepartion may be limited earlier in the week. Fernando Velasco and Kelvin Beachum, who both played in Sunday’s game, will also be monitored Matt Spaeth will also be evaluated to determine if he can return to practice.
Tomlin said Emmanuel Sanders is feeling a lot better than he did on Sunday, and he will be suited up for practice tomorrow. His participation will be their guide determining how he proceeds throughout the week.
TE Matt Spaeth could make a return to practice this week according to head coach Mike Tomlin. During his weekly press conference, Mike Tomlin told the media that Matt Spaeth will be evaluated on the field today, and that evaluation will determine whether or not he’ll be able to participate in practice this week.
Spaeth started the season on IR/with the designation to return due to the lisfranc injury he suffered during training camp. If he did return this week, it would be roughly 14 and a half weeks after his lisfranc surgery. The team has 21 days after his return to make a decision on activating him.
According to Ian Rapoport, Emmanuel Sanders’ foot injury is nothing major.
https://twitter.com/RapSheet/status/402506227847950336
Sanders left the Lions game in the first half and did not return for the remainder of the game. While the details are not know, the injury is to the same foot that Sanders had surgeries on in 2011. Hopefully, Ian’s source is correct. Mr. Rapoport has drawn heavy criticism for information he received from “sources” recently.
No real surprises on the Steelers inactive list today. LB LaMarr Woodley, G Ramon Foster, DE Brett Keisel, QB Landry Jones, WR Derek Moye, S Shamarko Thomas, and TE Rich Gordon are all inactive. Expect to see Worilds on the left and Jarvis Jones on the right at OLB. Guy Whimper will replace Foster in the lineup, and Ziggy Hood will see more time at Keisel’s spot.
For the Lions:
DE Ziggy Ansah, RT Corey Hilliard, CB Bill Bentley, RB Montell Owens, WR Nate Burleson, QB Kellen Moore,and G Leroy Harris are inactive.