Report: James Washington’s shoulder injury to have him out of the lineup for “weeks”

The Pittsburgh Steelers have issues on the injury front, and they don’t all surround the quarterback position. While the team isn’t sure who will be their starter in Week 6 when the team travels to play the Los Angeles Chargers, there is a good chance they will be short-handed at the wide receiver position too.

With JuJu Smith-Schuster nursing a toe injury, it looks as if James Washington will be out at least a few “weeks” with a shoulder injury suffered during the team’s Week 5 overtime loss to the Baltimore Ravens.

This per Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network:

The bad news is this means Washington is most likely out this Sunday for the prime time game, but there is a silver lining here is the team has their bye week in Week 7 before hosting the Miami Dolphins on Monday Night Football in Week 8.

If Washington’s injury isn’t that severe, there is a good chance he could return for the Dolphins game, or in Week 9, but it still leaves a lot of questions to be answered in the meantime.

The team has held onto Donte Moncrief for a reason, and he might get a shot to prove his worth on Sunday with the team likely short-handed at the receiver position. Other internal options would be to see more of Johnny Holton or Ryan Switzer on the field as receivers.

Not really a comforting thought for Steelers fans who are hoping to see their team shock the NFL world and beat the Chargers to get some good mojo working as the team heads into their bye week.

Stay tuned to BTSC for the latest news and notes surrounding the black-and-gold as they prepare for another west coast trip in Week 6.