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PITTSBURGH – The Pittsburgh Steelers added an important name to their injured roster on Tuesday: Ben Roethlisberger.
Coach Mike Tomlin said the quarterback suffered from a left pectoral injury but said he was unsure how it came about. This was not publicly disclosed during post-match interviews with Tomlin or Roethlisberger.
“I don’t know exactly when Ben was injured in the game,” said Tomlin. “I don’t know if that’s the case. You know, sometimes right in the middle of the competition, the adrenaline rush and so on, you just don’t know. Sometimes things just happen after that.”
Roethlisberger took just two sacks in the loss to the Las Vegas Raiders, but he was hit 10 times. Tomlin admitted that was too much for his 39-year-old quarterback and offered solutions that could prevent every week from repeating itself.
“Yeah, he did,” Tomlin said. “He took too many hits. We can run the ball better. We can get the ball out of his hand faster. We can stay on schedule and not get behind the sticks and find ourselves in situations where the line of play is so far that it improves the rush. “
A week ago, Roethlisberger said he felt some of the pain associated with the tackle live after the first game, and he recognized it again after the second.
“I’m disappointed that we lost the game, and I’m disappointed that I didn’t play well enough to help us win the game,” he said on Sunday. “Bumps and bruises come with football.”
The Steelers’ injury issues, however, extend far beyond Roethlisberger. Four Steelers are suffering from groin injuries, including TJ Watt, who left the game in the first half. Outside linebacker Alex Highsmith also suffers from a groin injury which was not revealed after the game. He previously suffered from a groin injury at the end of training camp.
Devin Bush and Joe Haden also suffered groin injuries that kept them out of Sunday’s game.
“I’m not making any drastic statements about the availability of any of these guys because of the degree of change in injuries, the prognosis,” Tomlin said. “And the man himself changes the prognosis. We’ll give the guys an opportunity close enough to help with training. We’ll give them the opportunity to train during the week.
“And if they train, we’ll look at how good that practice is or how much they practice and let that guide us in terms of potential participation. Some more established players may play with less preparation than others. There are a lot of variables involved, but not too much of a concern. It’s, you know, it’s the tightrope that we walk week after week. “
Nose tackle Tyson Alualu also entered the injured reserve with a broken ankle and underwent surgery on Monday, Tomlin said. The Steelers promoted defensive lineman Henry Mondeaux from the practice squad to fill Alualu’s spot.
Wide receiver Diontae Johnson injured his knee in the final game of Sunday’s loss. Tomlin was vague, but somewhat optimistic about his status.
“He looks better, but not to be confused with tall,” Tomlin said. “We will be monitoring him and his health during the week.”
Even with so many injuries before an AFC North meeting with the Cincinnati Bengals, Tomlin said the responses were “internal.”
Fortunately, in the NFL today, with the flexibility of practice teams and so on, we have all the answers internally. I’m not necessarily worried about the injury in terms of expectations, in terms performance, ”he said. “We have a week to prepare for known issues. In-game injuries cause more problems than known issues like the ones you are facing here earlier this week.”
To help with the injury situation, the Steelers signed former first-round player Taco Charlton to the practice squad on Tuesday. Charlton spent two seasons in Dallas, one in Miami and one in Kansas City. He joins safety Karl Joseph as one of two former first-round picks for the Steelers practice squad.
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