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The Pittsburgh Steelers didn’t just lose their Week 2 game to the Las Vegas Raiders, they were decimated by injuries almost overnight. Prior to the match, Joe Haden and Devin Bush were deemed inactive for the match due to groin injuries. As if that wasn’t a big enough blow for the defense, Tyson Alualu left with a broken ankle which landed him in the injured reserve (IR), TJ Watt left the match with his own injury in the groin and Diontae Johnson ended up with his knee late in regulation.
Needless to say, the injury status of these players is almost as important as the team’s ability to develop consistent running play and attacking offense. At Mike Tomlin’s weekly press conference on Tuesday, he gave a brief description of the players who may or may not be available for the Steelers when they host the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 3 at Heinz Field.
Tomlin began to describe Tyson Alualu being placed on IR and undergoing surgery to repair his fractured ankle. Henry Mondeaux has been called up from the practice squad to take Alualu’s spot on the 53-man roster, but it’s Isaiah Buggs who ends up as the starting nose tackle on the official depth chart of the l team, Mondeaux being his replacement.
Outside of Alualu, Tomlin has described some notable new injuries, and those of players who have a big role in the squad.
Tomlin said outside linebacker Alex Highsmith is suffering from a groin injury and could limit it at the start of the week. It should be noted that Highsmith suffered a groin injury before the Week 1 game against the Buffalo Bills, but was able to play.
In addition to Highsmith, Tomlin said Ben Roethlisberger suffered a pectoral injury to his left pectoral muscle. According to Tomlin, the injury could impact Roethlisberger’s preparation ahead of the divisional game this Sunday.
All of the other injuries mentioned were all known injuries. Of the following players, no real update has been given, other than the team “leaving the lights on” for them, and their participation will ultimately be the guide of the team.
TJ Watt (groin)
Devin Bush (groin)
Joe Haden (groin)
Finally, Tomlin mentioned Diontae Johnson, who injured her knee in the last game of Week 2. Tomlin said Johnson was “in better shape, but not to be confused with great”.
These injuries will have a huge impact on the outcome of the upcoming game, and the Steelers’ first training report on Wednesday will finally shed light on who will and will not play in Week 3 against Cincinnati.
Be sure to stay tuned to BTSC for the latest black and gold news and notes as they prepare for their AFC North Division opener of the 2021 regular season.
For more information on Mike Tomlin’s press conference, check out the BTSC recap podcast below.
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