By: G.Stryker
The Steelers are getting healthier with the right side of the offensive line returning to practice fully all week. David DeCastro, and Marcus Gilbert will start this week. JuJu Smith-Schuster was a surprise addition to the injury list this week with an abdomen. It kept him out of practice on Wednesday, but he returned limited on Thursday, and practiced fully on Friday. I expect JuJu to be ready to go and give the Ravens’ secondary some fits on Sunday night.
Mike Hilton appeared to suffer a severe elbow injury on a sideline tackle in the 4th quarter in Tampa. Fortunately it was a hyperextension and not a break or tear. Hilton practiced in a limited basis on Thursday, but didn’t practice on Friday. It’s probably not looking good for him playing on Sunday.
Morgan Burnett’s hamstring is really starting to concern me. It’s been injured since early in training camp, and he just can’t seem to recover from it. He tried to practice this week. Was a full participant on Wednesday, but was limited on Thursday, and ultimately didn’t practice on Friday.
I track and try to predict timelines for returning to the field, for all Steeler players. This is a link to our current spreadsheet. It will get updated on Wed, Thu, & Fri after the practice reports are issued. Bookmark it to see how the health of the Steelers is shaping up each week.
I believe the inactive players will be:
- Mason Rudolph: Healthy Scratch/ 3rd QB
- Morgan Burnett: Doubtful so he probably won’t play
- Mike Hilton: Doubtful so he probably won’t play
- LT Walton: was inactive last week, and probably will be again this week. The D line is healthy and Big Dan McCullers is getting some quality reps.
- Justin Hunter: Looks like Hunter is losing the numbers game again this year. He’ll probably be inactive unless there is an injury to another wide receiver.
- Zach Banner: With Gilbert returning, Zach will probably sit.
- Matt Feiler: Though Matt started at right tackle last week, the Steelers seem to really like Chukwuma Okorafor as their extra tackle/TE on running plays. I wouldn’t be surprised if Chukes is made inactive, but I’m going with Feiler getting a rest after starting last week.
After getting 6/7 correct last week, my predictions are 18/21 on the year.
