Pittsburgh Steelers Injury Report Week 17: Three Players Ruled Out, Steelers To Rest Starters
By Danny Cox
The Pittsburgh Steelers are heading into its regular season finale against the Cleveland Browns with a rather short injury report. Additionally, the Steelers are expected to rest several key players in week 17, since the team has already secured the third seed in the AFC playoffs. Regardless, a game must still be played at Heinz Field on Sunday against a division rival, so look for the Steelers to play their stars sparingly and continue to get healthy for the postseason.
On Friday, only three players were officially ruled as Out and two of them are on the defense. Safety Robert Golden (ankle) and defensive end Stephon Tuitt (knee) will be on the sidelines Sunday. The defense is also expected to be without linebacker Anthony Chickillo, who is listed as Questionable, but will likely not play.
On offense, tight end Ladarius Green is also listed as Out, as he is still in the NFL's concussion protocol, which is the same reason he missed last week's game. The Steelers are truly hoping that he will be ready to play by the first-round of the playoffs, as he has been a huge contributor this season for the passing game.
He did practice in a limited capacity early in the week, which is great news and means he should be back next week, but the Steelers did not want to risk anything in a somewhat meaningless game. Yes, the game could help the Steelers improve their record, but they won't be able to improve their playoff position.
Cleveland Browns looking quite healthy too
The Browns are not going to risk any serious or further injury to any players who may be a little banged up. This is especially true considering they have been eliminated from playoff contention for quite some time now. Still, they picked up their first win of the season last week after defeating the San Diego Chargers and their pride is on the line.
As of Friday afternoon, only one player was listed as Out for the 1-14 Browns and that is cornerback Trey Caldwell, who has been dealing with a hamstring injury. He did not practice throughout this week and will not be playing against the Steelers. A few other players are listed as Questionable and will likely be gametime decisions, depending on how walkthroughs go.
Linebacker Cam Johnson (groin) did not participate in practice this week, and it isn't likely that he will play this weekend. Cornerback Joe Haden (neck) and running back Duke Johnson (ankle) were both limited in practice this week, so, they could end up seeing some action in the 2016 season finale.
Out:
- (S) Robert Golden (ankle) - Did Not Participate In Practice
- (TE) Ladarius Green (Concussion) - Did Not Participate In Practice
- (DE) Stephon Tuitt (Knee) - Did Not Participate In Practice
Questionable:
- (LB) Anthony Chickillo (ankle) - Did Not Participate In Practice
- (TE) Xavier Grimble (ribs) - Limited Participation In Practice
