When Pittsburgh Steelers starting cornerback Ahkello Witherspoon took the field for the first meeting this season with the Cleveland Browns on Sept. 22, few could have believed that by the time the teams would play again that he would not have played in a full game since.
But as Sunday’s regular-season finale approaches, that’s the situation Witherspoon is in — having played just one half of football since suffering a hamstring injury during the Week 3 loss in Cleveland.
But after two weeks of practice, could Witherspoon be activated in time to play against the Browns in the must-win game Sunday at Acrisure Stadium?
“Yeah, absolutely,” Witherspoon said, after Friday’s practice, when asked if he could play Sunday. “Just whenever they say the word, I am going to be ready to play.”
Witherspoon’s lone action over the Steelers’ past 13 games has come during an Oct. 30 blowout loss at the Philadelphia Eagles when he came back following a four-game absence because of his injury. Witherspoon was benched in that game following three long A.J. Brown touchdown catches — he reiterated Friday that it was not health but performance reasons he did not play most of the second half that day — but the injury flared up again over the ensuring two weeks through the Steelers’ bye.
Witherspoon has been on the injured reserve list since Dec. 3.
“I came back and I felt nothing during that (Eagles) game,” Witherspoon said, “and it was actually the week coming off the bye week when I re-aggravated it.”
But Witherspoon was cleared to return to practice last week, meaning he’s gotten six full workouts in. That theoretically opens up the possibility the Steelers could activate him before Sunday.
“This second week being in practice really helped me just get more confident,” Witherspoon said, “and I am definitely comfortable.”
In the first year of a two-year contract, Witherspoon said he would welcome the idea to get back into a game this week (or, if the Steelers make the playoffs, over the next month) rather than have to wait through an entire offseason, summer and training camp.
“It’s a great sign,” Witherspoon said of making it through full practices. “That’s just a positive step forward. That’s really all I am focused on is just day-to-day improvement, and I am definitely on that track.”
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