Pittsburgh Steelers Injury Report: Short List Gives Promising Outlook For AFC Championship Game Against Patriots
By Danny Cox
Over the course of the past week, more than a dozen players and staff members in the Pittsburgh Steelers organization have come down with a flu bug that has made its way around the team. Some players were forced to sit out a day or two of practice, and it really could not have come at a worse time. No matter what, though, all of those on the Steelers roster are going to push through and be ready for Sunday's AFC Championship game against the New England Patriots.
Looking at the actual injury report released by the Steelers late on Friday afternoon, it is actually one of the shortest of the entire season. No players are listed as out or doubtful, and only three are listed as questionable. Making matters even better is that two of the three listed will likely be ready to go by game time.
Linebacker James Harrison has been dealing with a shoulder injury and a triceps injury, but he only missed one day of practice this week. On both Wednesday and Friday, Harrison was a full go with a day of rest on Thursday. Running back Fitzgerald Toussaint (concussion) is still listed as questionable, but he practiced in full the entire week and will be ready for the Patriots.
The never-ending saga of Ladarius Green's concussions
While those two players may very well be on the field on Sunday, the status of tight end Ladarius Green is still up in the air. Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin confirmed Green is still in the NFL concussion protocol, even though he did practice in a limited fashion this week.
As of now, Green is still being checked out regularly and he is traveling with the team for the AFC Championship game against the New England Patriots. Tomlin said on Friday that Green did have a great day of practice and that he is questionable for Sunday's game, but as of now, he's still not cleared to play.
Patriots are extremely healthy heading into AFC Championship Game
The New England Patriots have an injury report that is a bit longer than that of the Steelers, but they are not overly concerned about any of those on it. While the Pats also have no players listed as out or doubtful, they do have seven players down as questionable for the big game, but all are expected to play as needed.
The seven players all practiced each day this week for New England, but in a limited fashion. At the end of Friday's practice, it had marked three straight days that the Patriots had perfect attendance.
The majority of the players on New England's injury report are on offense with tight end Martellus Bennett (knee), running back Brandon Bolden (knee), and wide receivers Chris Hogan (thigh), Danny Amendola (ankle), and Malcolm Mitchell (knee). On the other side of the ball, defensive lineman Jabaal Sheard (knee) and linebacker Dont'a Hightower (shoulder) are listed, but they are also expected to play.
Steelers Injury Report
Questionable:
- (TE) Ladarius Green (concussion) - Limited Participation In Practice
- (LB) James Harrison (shoulder, triceps) - Full Participation In Practice
- (RB) Fitzgerald Toussaint (concussion) - Full Participation In Practice