Steelers Injury Updates: Norwood Will Play, Herbig Hopes To

PITTSBURGH — Pittsburgh Steelers offensive lineman Nate Herbig said there’s still a chance that he could play on Thursday night after battling an injury for the last to weeks.

Herbig worked in a limited capacity at practice on Tuesday at UPMC Rooney Sports Complex, his first action in returning from a shoulder injury suffered on Aug. 13.

He said after practice that it’s still possible that he plays against the Atlanta Falcons on Thursday night, even though he was not a full participant in the final full practice session before the game on Tuesday, and that the training staff will make the final decision.

It sounds like if it were up to him, Herbig would suit up. In addition to missing the second preseason game against the Buffalo Bills, he hasn’t gotten any in-game work at center after playing there some during training camp.

“If I am going to play center in a game, I don’t want the first time to be Week 1 against San Francisco,” he said.

That will only be possible if Herbig is able to play against the Falcons, and with the struggles of backup center Kendrick Green well noted, it’s very possible that Herbig could be the top backup at center as well as guard.

Pittsburgh Steelers guard Nate Herbig at OTAs, June 7, 2023. — Ed Thompson / Steelers Now

Another injured player that will make his return to the field is safety Tre Norwood. Norwood has been out since Aug. 6 with a right calf injury. He said he was a full participant in both of the team’s practices this week, and “for sure” will be able to play on Thursday night.

Norwood missed a key stretch of the Steelers preseason with the calf injury, which is one that players must guard against returning too quickly from. That meant for a frustrating last couple of weeks of training camp for Norwood, who had to wait to ease his way back into the action.

“It’s trusting the timeline,” Norwood said. “As frustrating as it, you kind of have to practice patience with that. You want to be able to be out there in practice and everything, but just kind of embracing the situation for what it was and taking mental reps whenever I wasn’t out there was preparing me for being back now and not missing a beat.”

Norwood is battling with Miles Killebrew and Kenny Robinson to be the team’s No. 4 safety, at a spot where five is about the most the club has ever kept. Killebrew’s status as a former special teams captain could tilt the results in his favor, and Robinson got plenty of playing time to showcase his skills while Norwood, Damontae Kazee, Keanu Neal and Minkah Fitzpatrick all missed time.

STEELERS INJURY REPORT