Steelers release injury report ahead of Sunday Night Football matchup against Seahawks

The Pittsburgh Steelers host the Seattle Seahawks in a primetime Sunday Night Football matchup, and they received largely positive news on the injury front on Friday afternoon. 

After sitting out of practice on Wednesday, quarterback Ben Roethlisberger was a full participant in Pittsburgh practice Thursday and Friday. He is working through a pectoral/hip injury.

While receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster is out for the remainder of the season and had shoulder surgery this week, wideouts James Washington and Chase Claypool fully participated in practice on Friday after dealing with groin and hamstring issues, respectively. Both receivers were limited in practice on Wednesday and Thursday.

Claypool had his best game of the season last week, catching six passes for 130 yards and a touchdown against the Broncos. The second-year receiver out of Notre Dame leads the team in receiving yardage and is poised to take on an even bigger role in Smith-Schuster’s absence.

Pittsburgh needs its offensive stars to play well on Sunday like they did last week. They are currently averaging 18.8 points per game, which is 27th in the NFL. The run game continues to struggle and is currently only ranked ahead of the 1-4 Dolphins. Pittsburgh has just three rushing touchdowns this year.

Defense set to face Geno Smith, beat up Seahawks offense

On the defensive side of the ball, nose tackle Carlos Davis will not be available Sunday due to an ongoing knee injury. His linemate defensive tackle Cameron Heyward was a full participant in practice for the last two days.

Otherwise, the Steelers appear to be in relatively good shape. Linebacker Devin Bush was fully involved in practice all week after suffering a groin injury against Denver on Sunday. Cornerback Cameron Sutton is in the same position. 

The defense will face a Seahawks offense without their starting quarterback, Russell Wilson. Wilson is out for several weeks after fracturing his middle finger on his throwing hand after making 165 consecutive starts. Veteran Geno Smith will start in his place for the first time since 2017.

Seattle also ruled out running back Chris Carson. He has a neck injury that head coach Pete Carroll called a “long-term condition.”

DK Metcalf has been battling a foot injury this week and did not practice Thursday. He should be available for Sunday’s game.

This game is expected to be extremely low-scoring, as the over/under is just 42.5 points. Pittsburgh is a 5-point favorite.