Steelers Injury Report: Joe Haden returns to practice on Thursday

The Pittsburgh Steelers are preparing for their second AFC North road game of the 2021 season despite it being Thanksgiving. As the Steelers take the practice field for their second time of the week to prepare for the Cincinnati Bengals, one new name was on the injury list. In the second injury report of the week courtesy of the Steelers PR department, there were three players who were limited and three who did not practice.

Steelers PR Department

As a reminder, Ray-Ray McCloud will not show up on the team’s injury report. Being on the Reserve/COVID-19 List, he is not officially on the 53-man roster. Therefore, McCloud will not end up on the report until he returns to the roster. Minkah Fitzpatrick came off the Reserve/COVID-19 List prior to Thursday’s practice.

In typical Wednesday fashion, Ben Roethlisberger did not fully practice which has been the plan all season. Surprisingly, Roethlisberger did participate in a limited role during the first practice in preparation to take on the Bengals. This week, Roethlisberger is listed with a pec/right shoulder injury. In what might be viewed as a little bit of a surprise, Roethlisberger remained a limited participant on Thursday.

The eyes of Steelers’ Nation have been the status of T.J. Watt ever since he left the game at the end of the third-quarter in Week 10 and was not able to return with an ankle/hip injury. Listed as several players Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin was hopeful would return to practice this week, Watt did return on Wendesday as a limited participant and on Thursday was once again limited as he attempts to work his way back into the lineup.

Another key member of the Steeler secondary who missed the Steelers game Sunday night was cornerback Joe Haden. Dealing with a foot injury, Haden still was unable to practice on Wednesday. On Thursday, Haden return to practice in a limited capacity and now has a chance to play in Sunday’s game.

The final player who missed the Steelers Week 11 matchup in Los Angeles was rookie defensive lineman Isaiahh Loudermilk. Injured in practice last Thursday with a groin injury, Loudermilk was able to return in a limited role on Wednesday and increased to a full participant on Thursday.

Two players who left the Steelers game early on Sunday night due to injury and did not return were guard J.C. Hassenauer and tight end Eric Ebron. Hassenauer is dealing with a pectoral injury sustained in the first half where Ebron injured his knee on his touchdown reception in the fourth quarter. Neither player is expected to be available this week and both could end up on the Reserve/Injured List eventually. For this reason, it is not surprising that both players did not participate in practice on Wednesday or Thursday.

The two other players on the injury report are guard Trai Turner and defensive tackle Cameron Heyward. Heyward did not practice due to a coaches decision as he was once again given off the first day of the week, but returned to practice Tursday. Trai Turner did not practice and is listed as having a knee injury. Last week, Turner did not practice on Wednesday before returning as a full participant. This week, Turner repeated the process and was a full participant on Thursday.

The new name on the injury list for the Steelers on Thursday was cornerback Arthur Maulet who missed practice due to an illness.

As for the Bengals’ injury report, you can see the list below from the Steelers official website:

Thursday, November 25
WR Auden Tate (Thigh) - DNP
G Hakeem Adeniji (Ankle) Full
CB Darius Phillips (Hip) - Full
DT Tyler Shelvin (Knee) - Full
WR Tyler Boyd (Cramps) - Full
LS Clark Harris (Thumb) - Full
DE Trey Hendrickson (Shoulder) - Full
OT Fred Johnson (NIR) - Ful
lTE Mitchell Wilcox (NIR) - Full

For more information on the Steelers and Bengals injury reports, be sure to check out the BTSC Injury Report podcast below: