When will Jalen Ramsey return to the Steelers’ starting lineup?
Although Steelers HC Mike Tomlin expressed optimism about Jalen Ramsey, he did not practice yesterday, and his status is unclear. Tomlin did acknowledge he would be limited in the early portion of the week, but does he have any chance of actually playing on Sunday against the Browns? And the Steelers quickly follow that up with a Thursday game against the Bengals, so a short turnaround time.
Jalen Ramsey is one of the Steelers’ most important defenders. Although they are getting Joey Porter Jr. back this week, there is a reason they brought Ramsey in. He hasn’t been flawless through four weeks, but his presence is obvious.
The 30-year-old suffered a hamstring injury in the second half of the Steelers’ win over the Vikings. He has already had some time to recover, thanks to the bye, but how much more time does he need? As he has gotten older, Ramsey has dealt with more minor, soft-tissue injuries, as is common.
Up next, the Steelers have two teams who have already benched their quarterbacks—including one for another. The Browns benched Joe Flacco in favor of rookie Dillon Gabriel. In Cincinnati after Joe Burrow’s injury, Jake Browning is now benched in favor of—Flacco. Maybe they don’t need a Jalen Ramsey for these quarterbacks, but he could better take advantage of their potential mistakes.
Ramsey is not the type of player who needs to practice at all to play. At the same time, the Steelers are clearly erring on the side of caution. Tomlin held out Porter until after the bye week, and he surely doesn’t want to rush Ramsey back, either. The last thing they need is for him to suffer an aggravation and miss another month.
Of course, the Steelers invested a lot to put this secondary together, and Jalen Ramsey was the cherry on top. They want him on the field, but they’re more concerned about having him in December and January. If he misses a couple of Ohio-region games in early October to ensure that, then so be it.
After another disappointing season and months of retooling, the Steelers are set to try it all again in 2025. Though they limped into the playoffs, they once again embarrassed themselves therein.
Just like last year, the biggest question hanging over the Steelers isthe quarterback question. They settled in on Aaron Rodgers, but we still have a lot to learn about him. The2025 NFL Draft class could play a big role, but veteran additions like Jalen Ramsey will be paramount.
Now we are in the regular season. From Rodgers to George Pickens to Minkah Fitzpatrick and Ramsey, we’ve seen the Steelers make some big changes. Now it’s about evaluating the roster in place and figuring out how it all works out.
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