Steelers Fans Get Great News Regarding Jalen Ramsey's Status For Thursday Night

The Pittsburgh Steelers bounced back in Week 3 after their embarrassing Week 2 defeat to the New England Patriots. The Cincinnati Bengals came into Acrisure Stadium with one of the NFL's hottest defenses, and Aaron Rodgers and the offense scored 30 points and totaled 411 yards of offense. Pittsburgh starts AFC North play 1-0, but it came at a cost: several players left injured on Sunday, and their status for Thursday night is in question. 

On Monday, several players were reported injured, with Jalen Ramsey seen in a sling in the locker room and Brandin Echols in concussion protocol. Echols was banged up on the muffed punt that allowed the Steelers to tie the game in the second half, but Ramsey's injury came as a surprise. Echols did clear concussion protocol but has been listed as questionable for Thursday night. Ramsey played 100% of his snaps on Sunday, and Head Coach Mike McCarthy made no mention of the injury in his post-game press conference. 

McCarthy reported on Monday that Ramsey has a wrist injury, and it is too early to tell if he will be able to play against the Cleveland Browns. Ramsey has battled injuries before as a member of the Black and Gold and has fought through them to return early. One insider believes it could happen again, even with the short week, as a wrist injury is bearable for a defensive back. 

Jeff Hathhorn recently appeared on 93.7 The Fan, where he acknowledged the risk of Ramsey missing the game but said the locker room believes he is still in play to suit up. We've seen plenty of defensive backs play with banged-up wrists/hands that get clubbed or taped thoroughly, and we may see it with Ramsey on Thursday night. Ramsey had a cast on his wrist on Wednesday.

"I think, while it's not ideal, I think there's an opportunity because you've seen guys play with messed-up hands, wrists, fingers, you know, because you can tape that as a defensive back," Hathhorn stated. "Is it ideal? No, but their status in the secondary and with a long weekend off, the feeling over there was that he's still in play for this game on Thursday night." 

Ramsey has been a very important player on the defense so far this season. He has played all over the field in Patrick Graham's defense and has used his best feature: physicality. He has been an effective tackler and blitzer. Missing him will be a big blow to the defense.

With the injuries to Ramsey and Echols, the Steelers are down their top two slot cornerbacks. If Ramsey doesn't play, it will likely be either Asante Samuel Jr. moving to the inside or Doneiko Slaughter getting called up from the practice squad again. Slaughter worked some with the starters in training camp when Ramsey was on the PUP list, and Samuel played both inside and outside corner with the Los Angeles Chargers. 

Samuel is a nice veteran presence to move around, but he has only played on the outside since he signed with Pittsburgh. Graham has been moving his nickel corner around a lot, and it will be a big adjustment for either Samuel or Slaughter if one of them plays there against Cleveland. 

Steelers Need Ramsey To Play

Graham has loved having bigger personnel on the field, especially at the nickel corner. The Steelers play a lot of nickel defense, and Ramsey adds a special element to that strategy, giving them another big body type to match up with tight ends and insert in the run game. Slotting in Samuel or Slaughter could change how the defense operates. 

Samuel and Slaughter are both much smaller than Ramsey, and Samuel's size is already costing him at outside corner. Moving him to the inside takes away what makes Pittsburgh's nickel defense special. Slaughter is listed at 190 pounds and played well in the slot in the preseason, but he was signed to the practice squad before Week 1 and hasn't seen much action. If Ramsey doesn't play, there will be no easy way to replace him; the club on the wrist may be the best option. 

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