Steelers Injury Report: James Conner still in concussion protocol, but expected to practice

The Pittsburgh Steelers are coming off their mini bye week, and are now preparing for the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 11.

The once prime time game will pit two teams who met twice in 2017, the Jaguars winning both of those contests at Heinz Field, and don’t think for a second the Steelers have forgotten the feeling of having the Jaguars beat them on both occasions.

It is now time for the Steelers to return the favor, and as Mike Tomlin addressed the media during his weekly Tuesday press conference, he also updated the team’s injuries. No injury was more concerning than the concussion James Conner suffered during the team’s Week 10 win over the Carolina Panthers.

Mike Tomlin stated Conner is still in the concussion protocol, but that isn’t necessarily negative.

Tomlin’s direct quote:

“James Conner is still in the concussion protocol, not that that’s a negative. Part of getting out of the protocol is physical labor. We haven’t worked. He’ll be given an opportunity to work tomorrow and I think that will lay all of those discussions to bed. Tuitt has as an elbow that could limit him at the early portions of the week. Marcus Gilbert is still working his way back from his knee injury and as always, participation will be our guide in terms of his availability or potential availability.”

Anyone who knows about a standard concussion protocol, it looks something like this:

Step 1: No more symptoms (headaches, nausea, blurry vision, etc.)
Step 2: Consecutive days without symptoms
Step 3: Light work load
Step 4: If no symptoms, increase work load
Step 6: If no symptoms, resume regular practice
Step 7: If no symptoms, cleared to return to play

Now, I am no suggesting this is the exact NFL Concussion Protocol, but I wouldn’t be stunned if it looked very similar.

So, to sum up, Conner will have to practice and not have any reoccurring symptoms before he is cleared to return to play. If headaches, or any other symptom, pop up, he moves back to earlier steps in the protocol.

Conner will be on the practice field Wednesday, the team’s first workout of the week, and Mike Tomlin mentioned a few other players who will be working their way back as well.

Stephon Tuitt (elbow) and Marcus Gilbert (knee) are both players to keep an eye on this week, considering it is Tomlin’s policy to allow practice participation to dictate an individual's availability for the upcoming game.

Stay tuned to BTSC for the latest news and notes surrounding the upcoming matchup between the Jaguars and Steelers, and don’t forget the game will be a 1 p.m. ET kickoff after being flexed out of the Sunday Night Football time slot.