The Pittsburgh Steelers usually want to take injuries seriously, especially in the early part any given season. Sometimes, the fear of re-aggravating something would lead teams to hold off for a little bit to make sure their big-time player is okay. Even after the bye week, that seemed to be the plan, as both Calvin Austin III and Jalen Ramsey were expected to miss at least a couple of weeks. Pittsburgh was preparing to deal with playing without both key players for Weeks 6 and Week 7.
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Steelers wide receivers Calvin Austin III (19) during 2025 training camp in Latrobe, PA.
That seems to no longer be the case for one of them. According to insider Adam Schefter, Ramsey has been upgraded from questionable and will most likely play in Week 6 against the Cleveland Browns.
Steelers upgraded Jalen Ramsey from questionable and he now is expected to play Sunday vs. Cleveland.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) October 11, 2025
Ramsey suffered a hamstring injury during the trip to Ireland. All the reports that came out about him compared his injury to Joey Porter Jr., who missed three weeks. Even though he was listed as questionable throughout Week 6 preparation, nobody outside of the organization really expected him to play, especially with a short week coming up soon as well.
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Steelers' Jalen Ramsey and Darius Slay during their debuts against the New York Jets in 2025.
Hamstrings can be very finicky. There are usually some concerns about rushing a player back from an injury like that. However, the Steelers must clearly feel great about Ramsey's progress after being a full participant in practice on Friday. The walkthrough on Saturday must have also gone very well. In the span of a couple of games, he went from most likely not playing to most likely getting back out on the field already.
Steelers' Secondary Is Finally Healthy
Porter and DeShon Elliot both went down with injuries in Week 1. Since then, the secondary has constantly been mixing and matching where players line up at, since almost everyone was on and off the field at certain times, especially in the cornerback room. Getting Elliott back in Week 3 helped stabilize the safety core, but there were still issues up front.
Tyler Miller / Pittsburgh Steelers
Steelers' DeShon Elliott during a Week 4 game against the Minnesota Vikings during the 2025 season.
Now, the Steelers can go back to their original plan: having Porter and Darius Slay on the outside, Elliott leading a rotation of safeties, and Ramsey bouncing around all over the defense. The bye week must have really helped his hamstring out, as he is ready to go and do what he does best without missing time: make life hard on opposing quarterbacks and roaming the defense.
What do you think about Ramsey's quick recovery prior to facing the Browns? Let us know in the comments or on X at @Steelers_ChrisB.
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