Steelers Injury Report: Darrius Heyward-Bey and Shamarko Thomas the only players ruled out

The Pittsburgh Steelers and Cincinnati Bengals will square off in Week 15 NFL action at Paul Brown Stadium in Cincinnati, OH this Sunday. What was once a lengthy injury report leading up to the game for the Steelers has shortened tremendously in the past few days.

Marcus Gilbert (ankle), Javon Hargrave (concussion), B.J. Finney (concussion), and DeAngelo Williams (knee) were all listed on the team’s injury report at one time or another this week, but all were left off of the final participation report heading into Sunday’s 1 p.m. EDT kickoff.

The fact that Darrius Heyward-Bey (foot) and Shamarko Thomas (concussion) were the only players ruled out for the upcoming game means that all of the other players are available to play. This also means the team will have some tough decisions when it comes to the inactive list, which is released an hour and a half prior to kickoff.

There are some obvious decisions on the inactive list. QB Zach Mettenberger, Heyward-Bey, Thomas and OT Brian Mihalik have all been mainstays on the inactive list. Three more players will need to be listed inactive to meet the mandated number of active players on game day.

Will DeAngelo Williams play for the first time in six weeks? Will the team make a player like Xavier Grimble or Jarvis Jones inactive? Will recently promoted Demarcus Ayers get a helmet in his first week on the 53-man roster?

These are the tough decisions the Steelers must make as they make their final road trip of the regular season, and the first of three straight AFC North matchups to end the regular season.

To check out the injury report for both the Steelers and Bengals, see the complete list below.

Pittsburgh

OUT
WR Darrius Heyward-Bey (Foot)
S Shamarko Thomas (Concussion)

Cincinnati

DOUBTFUL
DE Wallace Gilberry (Calf)
WR A.J. Green (Hamstring)

QUESTIONABLE
LS Clark Harris (Groin)
S Derron Smith (Thigh)
TE C.J. Uzomah (Calf)
WR James Wright (Knee)