The Steelers placed DL Cameron Heyward in the concussion protocol after Saturday's loss to the Colts. That'll challenge his availability for next Saturday's matchup with the Bengals. We'll watch Heyward's progress through the week.
The Steelers didn’t get much going in their 30-13 loss vs. the Colts in Week 15, but their backfield situation is starting to take an interesting turn. RB Jaylen Warren (10 carries, 40 rushing yards) appeared on a season-high 68.9% of the offensive snaps on Saturday and out-touched teammate Najee Harris 15 to 12. On top of that, the second-year back led the Steelers in receptions (5) and ranked second on the team in targets (6). Warren had appeared on no greater than 52% of the snaps at any point this season before Saturday, so the fact that Pittsburgh went away from the typical 50-50 RB split is highly notable. The Steelers’ remaining schedule ranks 10th-best for RBs per our adjusted fantasy points allowed. Warren stands to be a solid mid-tier RB2 should this trend continue.
Steelers RB Najee Harris (knee) is not listed on the final injury report for Saturday’s game vs. the Colts. He was a full participant in practice on Wednesday and Thursday. That knee shouldn't limit Harris this weekend.
Steelers Edge Alex Highsmith has cleared the concussion protocol. The team says he's expected to play Saturday against the Colts. With T.J. Watt clearing the protocol earlier this week, Pittsburgh's defense will have both edge starters back the game after they sustained their injuries against New England.
The Steelers announced Wednesday that an independent neurologist has cleared Edge T.J. Watt to play this weekend against the Colts. Watt entered the concussion protocol after the loss to the Patriots but should be set for Week 15 IDP lineups. Edge Alex Highsmith remains in the concussion protocol, however
Steelers RB Najee Harris (knee) returned to a full practice on Wednesday. It's confirmation that he'll be ready for his usual role in Saturday's game vs. the Colts' 31st-ranked RB defense.
Steelers RB Najee Harris (knee) did not practice on Tuesday. He played through this knee issue in Thursday night's loss to the Patriots and should be available for this Saturday's game vs. the Colts. We'll see if he gets back on the practice field tomorrow.
Steelers RB Najee Harris managed just 48 scoreless yards in Thursday night's loss to the Patriots. The knee issue that had him questionable coming in wasn't a noticeable problem -- and didn't impact Harris' usage. He played 57% of Pittsburgh's offensive snaps and out-carried RB Jaylen Warren 12 to seven. This was simply a case of a solid Patriots run defense showing no respect to QB Mitchell Trubisky and loading up to stop the Steelers' ground game. Harris averaged just 2.4 yards per carry; Warren was even worse at 1.6. The good news is that Harris and Warren get much softer matchups the next three weeks against the Colts, Bengals, and Seahawks, who rank 30th, 17th, and 23rd in adjusted fantasy points allowed to RBs. The bad news is that Trubisky will likely be under center for at least one and maybe all three of those games.
Steelers Edge Alex Highsmith left in the first half of Thursday night's game against the Patriots with a neck injury. The team ruled him out for the game before halftime. We'll see about his status for Week 15 and beyond.
Steelers RB Najee Harris (knee) is active for tonight's game vs. the Patriots. He didn't practice at all on the short week due to a knee issue that he's been managing throughout the season, according to NFL Network's Tom Pelissero. It's unclear if Harris' workload will be scaled back tonight. See where he sits in the Week 14 RB Rankings as you weigh Harris against your other options.
NFL Network's Cameron Wolfe reports that Steelers LB Elandon Roberts will play tonight against the Patriots. Roberts turned up questionable despite injuring his groin early in Sunday's contest and quickly being ruled out. Roberts managed limited practices the past two days. We'd still be a little wary of using him this week, with the risk of re-injury. But Roberts does appear in our Week 14 LB rankings. We've also nudged LB Mykal Walker down.
Update: Roberts is officially active.
Steelers RB Najee Harris (knee) is expected to play vs. the Patriots tonight, according to NFL Network's Tom Pelissero. Harris didn't practice on Tuesday or Wednesday and is listed as questionable. "This is not a new injury," Pelissero adds. "He's been managing the knee throughout the season. Just didn't feel great coming out of the game [last week], so they wanted to rest him." This sounds like the typical late-season, short-week soreness. The issue still adds some risk to Harris' Week 14 fantasy profile -- and we could certainly see Pittsburgh shift some work from Harris to RB Jaylen Warren. See where both Steelers sit in the Week 14 RB Rankings.
Steelers RB Najee Harris (knee) is listed as questionable for Thursday night's game vs. the Patriots. He was added to the injury report and sidelined on Tuesday and then missed practice again on Wednesday. His availability for this one is seemingly in legitimate question. We'll look for further updates on Harris' status and get Pittsburgh's inactives a little before 7 pm ET tomorrow.
Steelers RB Najee Harris (knee) did not practice on Tuesday. He wasn't listed on Monday's estimated injury report. This is certainly something to monitor on the short week. We'll see how Harris is listed on the final injury report tomorrow for Thursday night's game vs. the Patriots. His absence would be a huge boost to RB Jaylen Warren's fantasy value.
Steelers LB Elandon Roberts left Sunday's game against the Cardinals in the first half with a groin injury and was ruled out before halftime. That doesn't bode well for his chances of being ready for Pittsburgh's Thursday night game against the Patriots. Mykal Walker took over defensive play-calling duties after Roberts and would likely lead the LB corps in playing time in any further games Roberts misses.
NFL Network's Ian Rapoport says to expect "heavy targets" for Steelers TE Pat Freiermuth again today. He's coming off a big 9-120-0 line on a team-leading 11 targets last week. "Expect them to try to replicate that ... attack the middle of the field," Rapoport adds. You certainly shouldn't be expecting another 100-yard outing from Freiermuth today. But he does sit inside the top 10 of our Week 13 TE Rankings.
Steelers S Minkah Fitzpatrick is off the final injury report for Sunday's game against the Cardinals. That follows a week of full practices and indicates Fitzpatrick is all the way back from the hamstring injury that cost him the past four games. There's some risk in trusting Fitzpatrick in his first game back, but the team's treatment suggests they do. You'll find Fitzpatrick just outside DB2 territory in our Week 13 rankings.
Steelers TE Pat Freiermuth racked up 9 catches for 120 yards in Sunday’s win over the Bengals. He had 5 catches for 89 yards at halftime. In fact, Kenny Pickett set a single-game career-high in combined TE yardage… in the first half alone. Clearly, this was a point of emphasis for new play-caller Mike Sullivan. Freiermuth will be back on the streaming radar next week in a nice scoring matchup at Arizona.
NFL Network's Ian Rapoport hears that there will be more focus on getting the ball to RB Jaylen Warren and WR George Pickens under new co-offensive coordinators Mike Sullivan and Eddie Faulkner. Novel idea to get the ball to your two most explosive playmakers! Warren was already a nice RB2 play in today's plus matchup vs. the Bengals. We'd still consider Pickens a risk/reward WR3 -- although this news makes him a bit easier to get into Week 12 fantasy lineups.
The Steelers have ruled S Minkah Fitzpatrick (hamstring) out for Sunday's game against the Bengals. It'll be his fourth straight game missed, and Fitzpatrick still has yet to return to practice since suffering the injury. With Keanu Neal on IR, Damontae Kazee looks like the only full-time Pittsburgh safety. Trenton Thompson (77%), Miles Killebrew (21%), and Elijah Riley (9%) all saw playing time at safety in the last game.
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