The Steelers began their preparation for Sunday’s game against the Seattle Seahawks, practicing inside at the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex.
Linebacker Elandon Roberts didn’t practice, as he has already been ruled out for the game at Lumen Field.
Roberts suffered a pectoral injury in the win over the Cincinnati Bengals, leaving the game and not returning.
Roberts isn’t the only one dealing with an injury, with safeties Minkah Fitzpatrick and Trenton Thompson both working their way back from injuries that sidelined them against the Bengals. Fitzpatrick didn’t practice on Wednesday, while Thompson was limited.
“Elandon Roberts has a pec injury, he could be described as out this week,” said Coach Mike Tomlin on Tuesday. “We’ll see where the week takes Trent as he works his way back to us. Same with Minkah. Both guys could be described as limited starting the week and we’ll see how limited (Wednesday).
“We’ll look at the quality of that work and let that be our guide as we progress through the week.”
On the quarterback front, Tomlin said it will be a similar situation this week as last week. Mason Rudolph is ‘scheduled to be the quarterback for the week’ per Tomlin, but the team will also see where Kenny Pickett, who was limited today, is as far as his ankle as the week progresses.
“We’re in the same position with Kenny as we were last week,” said Tomlin. “We’ll give him a few reps and kind of see where that leads us. But just as I said a week ago, in this setting, Mason Rudolph was scheduled to be the quarterback for the week, and we’ll see where Kenny is. We have the same mentality as we start this week.
“Obviously, we have a great deal more comfort because of what we’ve seen in stadium from Mason Rudolph and that helps us, but we still really are in the same posture.
“He’s got the ball to start the week, and we’ll see where Kenny is from a mobility perspective and then kind of go from there and plan day-by-day based on the things that we see from that perspective.”
Pickett is gradually working his way back from his ankle injury, but said the timeline for his return isn’t in his hands, but rather the hands of the team’s athletic trainers and the coaching staff.
“It feels good,” said Pickett. “I am going to take it a day at a time, see what the coaches are saying, what the trainers are saying. They have a plan for me, I am just going about what they are telling me.
“It feels like I am on track with what I need to do. It’s not how I feel, it’s what they see me doing and how they feel like I am looking moving around.”
The full injury report is below.
