Steelers Injury Report: Heath Miller and William Gay do not practice Wednesday

The Pittsburgh Steelers were back at work Wednesday in their first practice of the week as the prepare for their huge game against the Cincinnati Bengals this Sunday in the Queen City. The Steelers are coming off a thrilling 45-10 beat down of the Indianapolis Colts and are looking to continue to gain momentum down the stretch as they hope to make the playoffs for the second straight year.

However, the Steelers were without two starters at practice Wednesday and a handful of other veterans who were given the day off to rest. The most notable names who missed practice were Heath Miller (ribs) and William Gay (concussion). Miller missed the Week 13 game against the Colts, and his availability in the following days will be extremely important as the team hopes to get him back on the field as soon as possible.

As for Gay's absence, it just shows how every head injury is different. Ben Roethlisberger and Ryan Shazier both suffered concussions in Week 12 leading up to the Colts game, but neither missed practice or the game on Sunday night. Whether Gay is being held out as precaution, or he failed his IMPACT test were not released to the public.

Steelers Practice Report DNP: Coates (ill), Gay (conc.), Miller (rib), Spaeth (knee), Warren and Harrison (maint.) Limited: Spence (hammy)

— Chris Bradford (@BCTBradford) December 9, 2015

Others who missed practice were Matt Spaeth (knee), Sammie Coates (illness), Greg Warren (maintenance day) and James Harrison (maintenance day). The only limited participant was linebacker Sean Spence who continues to recover from a hamstring injury.

UPDATE: Gay has cleared concussion protocol and has been cleared to practice. He should return to the field Thursday.