Steelers “nearly” back to full strength heading into Monday Night Football against the Dolphins
Brian E. Roach and myself often joke as of late that the 2019 Pittsburgh Steelers look like the cast from the Walking Dead. Some familiar faces are gone, and others are just trying to survive while members of the group are battered and worn down.
Nothing could be further from the truth when looking at the team’s recent injury report, which lists a whopping eleven players, all of whom have a featured role on offense or defense.
Of course, the Steelers will never truly be at “full strength” this season following the loss of starting quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, and the recent move of defensive end Stephon Tuitt to injured reserve. However, the team is rebounding in other ways.
First, Mason Rudolph was recently cleared from the concussion protocol and has practice in full this week. That’s a huge move after missing the Week 6 contest against the Chargers, and most of the second half in Week 5 against the Ravens, after suffering an intense blow to his head.
That left the Steelers with their third string quarterback, Duck Hodges, as the next man up, but now the team can shift its focus back to their 2018 third-round draft pick and potential future of the franchise in Rudolph.
Another big name returning this week is fullback Roosevelt Nix. The 2017 Pro Bowler had been sidelined all season and is seen as an integral part of the Steelers run game. Adding to the rushing attack is the return of Jaylen Samuels (following a knee procedure) as well as James Conner not showing up on the report at all.
Also, on offense Pittsburgh saw full practices from both TE Vance McDonald and WR James Washington. McDonald has been playing on a bad shoulder and missing team sessions over the last several weeks while Washington was ruled out of the Chargers game with a bum shoulder himself.
On defense, T.J. Watt was an early week scare to be scratched from Monday’s lineup but practiced in full after being limited on Thursday. With a thin depth chart at outside linebacker the Steelers can’t be without one of their top stars in Watt and it appears he will be full-go against the Dolphins.
The secondary also gets a boost with Joe Haden, Steven Nelson, and Mike Hilton ready to go as well, after the two outside starting cornerbacks either sat or left the Chargers game nearly two weeks ago.
Linebacker Mark Barron, who had a similar fate of time missed in the Ravens and Chargers games as Mason Rudolph did, is still nursing a sore hamstring and went from full to limited throughout the week. His status is the only one still uncertain heading into the Steelers-Dolphins game on Monday.
Full Practice Report
Updated 10/26
Ulysees Gilbert was added to Saturday’s injury report, limited in practice with a back injury.
| Player | Position | Injury | Thu | Fri | Sat | Game Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Roosevelt Nix | FB | Knee | FP | FP | FP | (-) |
| Mark Barron | LB | Hamstring | FP | LP | FP | Questionable |
| T.J. Watt | LB | Abdomen | LP | FP | FP | (-) |
| Jaylen Samuels | RB | Knee | FP | FP | FP | Questionable |
| James Washington | WR | Shoulder | FP | FP | FP | (-) |
| Mike Hilton | CB | Calf | FP | FP | FP | (-) |
| Steven Nelson | CB | Groin | FP | FP | FP | (-) |
| Vance McDonald | TE | Shoulder | FP | FP | FP | (-) |
| Joe Haden | CB | Groin | FP | FP | FP | (-) |
| JuJu Smith-Schuster | WR | Illness | DNP | FP | FP | (-) |
| Mason Rudolph | QB | Concussion | FP | FP | FP | (-) |
| Ulysees Gilbert III | LB | Back | LP | Questionable |
