Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin updated the team’s injury situation during his weekly press conference on Tuesday, specifically naming offensive tackle Chukwuma Okorafor, outside linebacker T.J. Watt, and defensive tackle Larry Ogunjobi as players that will be impacted by health issues this week.
“Chuks went down in-game with a shoulder that may affect him in the early portions of the week,” Tomlin said. “He was able to come back in and finish the game. We’ll see where those roads lead.”
Trent Scott replaced Okorafor for the one snap that he missed during the game and will likely do so again this week if he has to miss time. Scott also worked as the Steelers’ jumbo tight end on Sunday.
T.J. Watt and Larry Ogunjobi were among the guys who were banged up throughout a short week, but were able to suit up in Sunday’s win over Atlanta. Tomlin doesn’t expect those issues to just go away.
“Guys that were carrying bumps and bruises into play who were somehow limited during the course of last week’s work, but then were able to play — you just don’t want to assume that that’s behind them,” Tomlin said. “I’m prepared for them maybe to be affected somewhere in the early portions of the week, but not as we lean in on game time.”
Tomlin stressed that absences from practice give other guys a chance to improve and work toward being important pieces.
“But I don’t focus my energies there, I focus my energies on those that are working, their growth and development,” Tomlin said. “You give a guy like Cam Heyward a day off this time of year … It’s a great day for a guy like DeMarvin Leal to grow and to play and to take the type of steps that we need him to take.”