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The bye week couldn’t have come at a better time for the Pittsburgh Steelers, considering the laundry list of players who are dealing with an injury of some kind. There are some who have significant injuries, and will miss an extended period of time, while others are hopeful to not miss a beat when they report back to the team prior to their Week 8 Monday Night Football game vs. the Miami Dolphins at Heinz Field.
On Wednesday, the day before the team jettisons from the team headquarters to do their own thing for the weekend, Mike Tomlin held court to local media and updated several injured players’ statuses heading into the bye.
There was first some good news from players who missed the Week 6 game in Los Angeles vs. the Chargers. Tomlin said Roosevelt Nix, who was injured his knee during the Week 1 loss vs. the New England Patriots, could return to practice, and the same could be said about James Washington (shoulder), Steven Nelson (groin) and Mark Barron (hamstring).
This via Dale Lolley of DKPittsburghSports:
Mike Tomlin said he expects Rosie Nix, James Washington, Steve Nelson, Mark Barron to return to practice next week when the Steelers return #Steelers #dkps
— Dale Lolley (@dlolley_pgh) October 16, 2019
There are also some players who played on Sunday Night Football, but left for various reasons. Tomlin said there are a few who could be limited when they return, and, as always, their practice participation will dictate their game availability.
Tomlin said James Conner (quad), Joe Haden (groin) and T.J. Watt (oblique) could all be limited, even after the week off.
This per Brooke Pryor of ESPN:
Tomlin says James Conner, Joe Haden and TJ Watt will be limited in practice next week after being injured against LA.
— Brooke Pryor (@bepryor) October 16, 2019
Unfortunately, the team will be without Stephon Tuitt for the remainder season, but Tomlin did say Tuitt could undergo surgery on his torn pectoral muscle as soon as Wednesday.
Coach Tomlin said Stephon Tuitt could be having his surgery today to repair his torn pec.
— Missi Matthews (@missi_matthews) October 16, 2019
The other players who are nursing injuries which aren’t as significant as those mentioned previously would be:
JuJu Smith-Schuster (Toe)
Vance McDonald (Shoulder)
Devin Bush (ankle)
Now the team will turn their attention to the Miami Dolphins at home on Monday Night Football in Week 8 in hopes of winning back-to-back games for the first time in 2019. Could this be the start of a winning trend for the Steelers? Only time will tell...