Final practice report of the week…
The Pittsburgh Steelers are set to host the Baltimore Ravens for their first divisional matchup of the season in Week 11, with plenty of injury updates worth monitoring ahead of the big showdown.
With the final practice of the week in the books, here’s a full breakdown of Steelers’ final injury designations, as well as their participation report for their final practice and what it all means ahead of Week 11 against the Ravens.
Steelers injury designations for Week 11
Questionable: RB Jaylen Warren (back), CB Cory Trice Jr. (hamstring)
Doubtful: TE MyCole Pruitt (knee)
Out: CB C.J. Henderson (neck), LB Alex Highsmith (ankle)
Full practice report breakdown
DNP: CB C.J. Henderson (neck), LB Alex Highsmith (ankle), TE MyCole Pruitt (knee)
Limited: RB Jaylen Warren (back)
Full: WR Van Jefferson (quadricep), RB Najee Harris (ankle), CB Donte Jackson (hamstring), CB Cory Trice Jr. (hamstring), LB Nick Herbig (hamstring)
*Note: Italics indicate a change from yesterday’s practice report.
There are several notable storylines on the injury front this week, perhaps the biggest among them being the potential for RB Jaylen Warren to miss Week 11 with a back injury which popped up on Thursday’s injury report. Warren did see an upgrade in his participation on Friday, having participated in a limited fashion after missing altogether on Thursday, but it still seems unlikely that the team would roll him out after being relatively cautious on the injury front through the first half of the season.
With the bad news does sometimes come good news, though, and that good news is the potential return for second-year CB Cory Trice Jr., who’s been out since suffering a hamstring injury in Week 3. Health has been an ongoing issue for Trice, having missed his entire rookie season with a torn ACL, but his 21-day practice window was activated this week, and he logged full participation in back-to-back practices on Thursday and Friday — a promising sign. Given that Donte Jackson has resumed full practices as well, also dealing with a hamstring issue, it wouldn’t be surprising to see him play a limited role if he is active in Week 11, most likely relieving Jackson along the perimeter. Trice has managed two solo tackles and an interception this season in limited playing time.
In more good news, it now seems official that the Steelers will get OLB Nick Herbig back from a hamstring issue that’s kept him out of the lineup since suffering the injury in Week 5. Herbig has 2.5 sacks, 8 combined tackles, 3 TFL and 3 QB hits this season, and his availability will be key given that Pittsburgh will be without starting OLB Alex Highsmith opposite T.J. Watt. Expect him to get a sizeable allotment of snaps, with new edge Preston Smith in rotation, seeming likely for a more substantial role than he played in Week 10 — his first week with the team. Smith played just 23 total snaps in his black and gold debut but notched a sack, 3 solo tackles (2 tackles for a loss), making the most of his limited playing time.