The Pittsburgh Steelers have issued their first injury report ahead of Sunday night’s game against the Green Bay Packers. Per the team’s report, only three players had any practice limitations Wednesday: C Zach Frazier (calf) and DL Cam Heyward (rest) and EDGE T.J. Watt (rest). Every other Steelers worked in full, including ILB Malik Harrison (knee), QB Will Howard (hand), and WR Calvin Austin III (shoulder).
Steelers’ Week 8 Wednesday Injury Report
DNP
DL Cam Heyward (rest)
EDGE T.J. Watt (rest)
Limited
C Zach Frazier (calf)
Full
QB Will Howard (hand – remains on IR)
WR Calvin Austin III (shoudler)
ILB Malik Harrison (knee – remains on IR)
Earlier Wednesday, the team opened the 21-day window on Howard, allowing him to return to practice. He suffered a broken bone in his throwing hand during training camp and was placed on injured reserve one day after cutdowns.
During his Tuesday press conference, Mike Tomlin expressed optimism for Austin’s return and noted he would practice this week. Injured in Week 4, Austin missed the past two games while dealing with his shoulder injury. Wednesday’s practice marked his first action since getting hurt. Getting Austin back would return the Steelers their No. 2 receiver.
On the season, Austin has recorded 10 receptions for 139 yards and two touchdowns. In his absence, Pittsburgh received little production from its other wide receivers, though Roman Wilson made plays that didn’t show up in the stat sheet during Thursday’s loss to the Cincinnati Bengals.
Largely, Pittsburgh is otherwise healthy and exited the Bengals game without major injuries. Frazier’s including on today’s report wasn’t expected but Tomlin did not mention Frazier as at-risk of missing this weekend. Still, his status will be worth checking up on throughout the rest of the week. Pittsburgh’s had the same starting five o-line combination start every game this season. Veteran Ryan McCollum is his primary backup.
Like Howard, Harrison remains on injured reserve but resumed practicing last week as part of his 21-day designation to return. To play Week 8, he must be activated to the 53-man roster by Saturday at 4 PM/EST. The same applies for Howard, though Pittsburgh is more likely to utilize all 21 days with him.
The Steelers and Packers kickoff Sunday at 8:20 PM/EST.
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