PITTSBURGH — Steelers starting right tackle Broderick Jones and tight Pat Freiermuth were surprise additions to the injury list on Tuesday. Jones is dealing with an ankle injury, and Freiermith has a knee injury. Both players were limited on Tuesday for the start of Bengals week.
If Jones took a downward turn and could not play, it would be Chuks Okorafor slotting back into the lineup. Freiermuth would be replaced by a platoon of Darnell Washington, Connor Heyward, and Rodney Williams. However, since they were limited, it does seem like they will play on Saturday against the Bengals in a must-win game if they want to extend their playoff hopes. Of course, after three losses in a row, those seem grim.
While those two were limited players, others did not practice, like Isaac Seumalo, Najee Harris, Minkah Fitzpatrick, and Trenton Thompson. Among all the other issues, the team is extremely banged-up and has to figure out remedies to those problems to keep the season afloat.
But it’s December, and to a degree, that is true for every team. But the Steelers are up there in terms of bad injury luck, and they hope that Jones and Freiermuth do not turn into another example of that luck going downhill.