The Pittsburgh Steelers are preparing for the team's first in-division matchup of 2025 in Week 6 as the franchise will be taking on the Cleveland Browns. Cleveland is 1-4 and coming off of a loss in London, and the two sides will be squaring up Sunday in Pittsburgh with the Steelers coming off of a bye week. All signs should point to the Steelers winning this matchup, but Pittsburgh has struggled with Cleveland a little bit over the last few seasons as the Steelers have not been able to sweep the season series since 2021.
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Browns Head Coach Kevin Stefanski greets Steelers Head Coach Mike Tomlin near midfield after their teams played one another in a professional football game in Cleveland, OH.
The Steelers have been playing good football as the group played its most complete game of the season in Week 4 against the Minnesota Vikings. The defense finally looked like fans have been expecting it to look, and the offense was efficient on the ground and through the air. However, Pittsburgh did take a hit during the game. Veteran cornerback Jalen Ramsey went down with a hamstring injury and tried to return to the field, and had to come off again. Team insider Gerry Dulac provided some insight on the injury during an appearance on 102.5 WDVE on Monday morning.
"Jalen Ramsey, basically, is gonna be Joey Porter's injury," Dulac said. "A pretty good hamstring tear; whenever you have that injury to the hamstring, it's so strenuous. It's so easy to aggravate it. They just wanna be sure that doesn't happen. And that's why they're taking their time with Joey Porter. And it's gonna be the same thing with Jalen Ramsey."
Dulac referenced Pittsburgh's younger cornerback Joey Porter Jr. when discussing Ramsey's hamstring injury. Porter hurt his hamstring during Pittsburgh's Week 1 victory over the New York Jets, and he has not played since, although he is expected to return to the lineup in Week 6 against Cleveland. Dulac believes the two injuries are similar, which should give fans an idea of when to expect Ramsey back on the field.
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Steelers' Jalen Ramsey and Darius Slay during their debuts against the New York Jets in 2025.
Porter has missed three games for the Steelers while being out four weeks in total. Thankfully, Pittsburgh had its bye week in Week 5 which should allow Porter to return to the lineup in Week 6 while also giving Ramsey a jumpstart on his recovery. There was some hope that Porter would be back on the field in Week 4 against Minnesota, but the cornerback wound up not being able to play.
Dulac stated that these soft tissue injuries are always hard to judge, and it is important to be careful with them as they are easy to aggravate and make worse. Pittsburgh wanted to avoid that with Porter, and now that same caution will be used when it comes to working Ramsey back into the swing of things. Porter returned to practice ahead of the Steelers' Week 4 game, so it seems as though Ramsey could be expected to miss anywhere from 2-4 games.
Steelers Can't Catch A Break With Injuries On Defense
The Steelers have had a key member of the defense missing in each of the team's contests in 2025. Nick Herbig could not play in Week 1 against the Jets, and Porter and DeShon Elliott each went down in that game. Elliott missed the next two games while Porter missed three. Alex Highsmith was also hurt in Week 2 against the Seattle Seahawks, and he is another player hoping to make his return against Cleveland.
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Steelers outside linebacker Alex Highsmith (56) during 2025 training camp in Latrobe, PA.
Pittsburgh can't catch a break on defense as Ramsey is expected to miss some time. The defense is taking steps in the right direction, but health is going to be extremely important as the season continues to move along and it is certainly a concerning facet of the game for the Steelers at the time being.
What do you think of Dulac's comments on Ramsey's injury? Let us know in the comments below!
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