Steelers Injury Report: Watt, Haden limited in practice Wednesday

With some players limited with her injuries, Devin bush returned as a full participant.

The Pittsburgh Steelers came out of Week 2 of the 2021 NFL season both with their first defeat and with a number of mounting injuries. As the Steelers take the practice field for their first day of preparation for the Cincinnati Bengals, nine names were on the list although one was a full participant. In the first injury report of the week courtesy of the Steelers PR department, there were five players who did not participate while three players were limited.

Steelers PR Department

One positive note from the Steelers injury front is inside linebacker Devin Bush returned to practice on Wednesday after missing Sunday’s game with a groin injury. If all goes well, hopefully Bush will not be one of the players the Steelers are questioning his availability come Sunday.

Another positive from injury report was Joe Haden and T.J. Watt participated in a limited basis in practice on Wednesday with their groin injuries. Even though being limited practice is usually not a desired outcome, both Watt and Haden are players who could participate on Sunday without a full week of practice. The fact that they got on the field at all on Wednesday is a good sign. If they respond well to the work and can continue to stay on the field throughout the week, the chances of their availability on Sunday increase significantly.

Another player who was limited in practice was cornerback Justin Layne who is new to the Steelers injury report. Layne is listed as being limited with an Achilles injury.

As is typically the case, Ben Roethlisberger did not practice on Wednesday. Knowing that Roethlisberger has a left pectoral injury, it’s not surprising to see him on the list with the injury. Ultimately, Wednesday doesn’t really give any indication as to whether or not the injury has slowed Roethlisberger’s progression to play this week where Thursday will be a much better gauge. The one player who did land on the list as a coaches decision was tight end Eric Ebron.

The Steelers had three other players who did not practice at all on Wednesday. Carlos Davis, who did not play in Sunday’s game, as well as Diontae Johnson, who is injured on the final play of Sunday’s game, both sat out with knee injuries. Additionally, Alex Highsmith’s groin injury, which first surfaced prior to Week 1 and had not been mentioned since until Mike Tomlin‘s press conference on Tuesday, is the one that is keeping a player off the field. All three of these player’s availability for Sunday is now in doubt with still two more practices remaining to get back on the field to prepare for Cincinnati.

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

Cincinnati Bengals Participation/Injury Report, Week 3

Wednesday, September 22

WR Tee Higgins (Shoulder) – DNP

G Xavier Su’a-Filo (Knee) – DNP

DT Josh Tupou (NIR-Personal) – DNP

CB Trae Waynes (Hamstring) – DNP

DT Larry Ogunjobi (Groin) – Limited

CB Darius Phillips (NIR – Rest) – Limited

For more information on the Steelers’ and Bengals’ injury report, check the injury report podcast below: