PITTSBURGH — Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger suffered a pectoral injury during the 26-17 loss to the Raiders on Sunday, and head coach Mike Tomlin said he could be limited during practice this week as a result.
“We better be ready to be adjustable,” Tomlin said at his weekly news conference Tuesday.
Tomlin said he does not know how Roethlisberger was injured, but he was sacked twice and hit on eight other occasions after he released passes. Tomlin said he is not considering making any changes along his offensive line, but he admitted Roethlisberger was exposed to hits way too much for his liking.
“He took too many hits,” Tomlin said. “We can get the ball out of his hand quicker. We can stay on schedule and not get behind the sticks and get in situations where the line to gain is so far that that enhances the rush.”
Roethlisberger’s injury is one of many the Steelers are dealing with this week as they prepare for the Cincinnati Bengals. Defensive lineman Tyson Alualu fractured his ankle and had surgery on Monday. He was placed on injured reserve.
T.J. Watt and Alex Highsmith, the two starting outside linebackers, are dealing with groin injuries. Inside linebacker Devin Bush missed the Raiders game with a groin injury and Joe Haden missed with a hamstring injury. Tomlin said they are working their way back this week.
On offense, receiver Diontae Johnson is dealing with a knee injury.
“We’ll give them an opportunity to practice during the course of the week,” Tomlin said. “And if they practice, we’ll look at the quality of that practice or how much they practice and let that be a guide for us in terms of their potential participation. I’ll also say this: some more established players can play on less prep than others. And we’ve had that discussion in the past. And so there are a lot of variables at play.”
Tomlin did not rule any of those players out for Sunday, but he made it clear some of the younger players behind them on the depth chart have to be ready to assume more prominent roles.
One of those young players is Jamir Jones, who is the only healthy outside linebacker remaining on the 53-man roster outside of Melvin Ingram.
“He’s done solidly,” Tomlin said. “He did solidly in preseason stadiums. He registered production in those games — tackles, pressure, sacks, etc. He has been a quality special teamer for us. He had a tackle last week, I think, on punt in the Vegas game. And so, you know, he’s doing the things that young guys do, the natural maturation process. They show you glimpses of offense and defense. And so they develop in that area. All the while, they’re productive special teams players. They wait for their opportunities on offense or defense.
“James Pierre was a guy that walked a similar path a year ago and now James is a regular contributor on defense. And so he’s going through that. He might get an increased opportunity to participate this week due to the misfortune of circumstances involving others. But that’s just the nature of this thing. That’s why every man is viable. Every man is working with great urgency. And when I ring the bell, they better answer. You know, you guys have gotten to know guys like Robert [Spillane] falling under similar circumstances because of someone else’s misfortune. And so we’re all excited for guys like Jones in circumstances like this. If he gets an opportunity to have an increased role, we expect those guys to step through that crack in the door and elevate themselves from a career standpoint.”
