Steelers Injury Report: 4 players return to practice on Thursday

There were still five players who did not practice on Thursday.

The Pittsburgh Steelers are heading into their final regular season game still alive to qualify for the playoffs. As the Steelers took the practice field for their second official day of preparation for the Cleveland Browns, there were five players who did not participate while two were limited. In the second injury report of the week courtesy of the Steelers PR Department, two new names were added to the list.

Steelers PR Department

The only player the Steelers had miss their Week 17 matchup against the Baltimore Ravens was safety Tre Norwood. Unable to go due to a hamstring injury, Coach Tomlin did not mention Norwood among the injuries during his press conference on Tuesday. On Wednesday, Norwood missed practice with his hamstring injury. Thursday saw Norwood return as a limited participant.

Two players who did not finish the game last Sunday night were cornerback James Pierre, who is in the NFL’s concussion protocol, and linebacker Myles Jack with his nagging groin injury. Pierre was a full participant in practice on Wednesday as he moves his way through the protocol while Myles Jack did not practice Wednesday his groin injury. Thursday saw both players with the same status as Pierre was once again a full participant while Jack was not able to practice.

Minkah Fitzpatrick missed a few snaps in Sunday night’s game due to an ankle injury but was able to return and get the game-clinching interception. Although Coach Tomlin said he does not expect Fitzpatrick to have his game status in question, his availability early in the week would be affected. As expected, Fitzpatrick did not practice on Wednesday. On Thursday, Fitzpatrick was still unable to go and all eyes will be on Friday to see his game status.

One player who missed practice but not due to injury is running back Najee Harris, listed simply as getting rest. Another player who missed practice but not necessarily for injury was cornerback Arthur Maulet who is listed as not practicing due to an illness. On Thursday, Harris returned to practice but Maulet was still unavailable due to illness.

Once again, wide receiver Diontae Johnson starts off the week on the injury report due to his hip. On Wednesday, Johnson did not participate in practice. Thursday saw Johnson return to practice as a full participant.

Two more players on the injury report are offensive lineman Kevin Dotson and defensive lineman Larry Ogunjobi. Dotson was unable to practice on Wednesday due to a shoulder injury which had not been reported previously. As for Ogunjobi, he has missed the majority of Steelers practices lately with a toe injury but has still been able to participate in games. On Wednesday, Ogunjobi once again did not practice. Thursday saw Dotson return as a full participant while Ogunjobi was still out with his toe injury.

Two new names landed on Thursday’s injury report with Cam Heyward showing up with his typical day off which is not injury related. The other name that showed up on Thursday’s report is outside linebacker Alex Highsmith who was limited with an ankle injury. It is uncertain at this time if this was an injury that was sustained during practice.

As for the Browns’ injury report, you can see the names below courtesy of Steelers.com.

Cleveland Browns Participation/Injury Report, Week 18

Thursday, January 5

G J. Bitonio (NIR – Rest) – DNP

DE J. Clowney (NIR – Rest) – DNP

T J. Conklin (Ankle) – DNP

WR A. Cooper (NIR – Rest – Hip) – LP

DE M. Garrett (NIR – Rest) – DNP

RB D. Johnson (Shoulder) – LP

CB D. Ward (Shoulder) – DNP

G D. Forbes (NIR – Personal) – DNP

C E. Pocic (Illness) – DNP

DE I. Thomas (Foot) – DNP