Steelers Injury News: Riley Update, Pickett OK after Eye Scare

CLEVELAND — The Pittsburgh Steelers suffered just one significant injury, as safety Elijah Riley suffered a high ankle sprain in his team’s 13-10 loss to the Cleveland Browns on Sunday, head coach Mike Tomlin announced.

Riley suffered the injury in the third quarter of the game and did not return. He was replaced as the team’s Dime defensive back by a combination of safety Miles Killebrew and cornerback James Pierre.

Riley plays safety, slot cornerback and special teams for the Steelers, and he was into the mix on defense thanks to that team already dealing with injuries to starting safeties Minkah Fitzpatrick and Keanu Neal.

A high-ankle sprain is typically a multiple-week injury. Tomlin did not announce a specific prognosis for his injury.

No other Steelers players were reported by Tomlin as being injured during the game. Safety Trenton Thompson was slow to get up after making a tackle on a punt return. He returned one play later.

Steelers quarterback Kenny Pickett also briefly came out of the game in the second half. He left the field after running for a fourth-down conversion on a quarterback sneak. Pickett lost his helmet on the play and said that he got dirt in his eye. He said that it did not bother him during the remainder of the game after it was cleaned out. Because the Browns used a timeout to challenge the spot, Pickett did not even miss a snap.

The Steelers got one player back from injury in the game, as tight end Pat Freiermuth returned to action. He had been questionable to return from the hamstring injury that had him sidelined since Week 4. Freiermuth played a more limited than typical workload.