At the end of a week in which the Pittsburgh Steelers lost their starting quarterback, the rest of the news regarding their injuries was more positive.

Cornerback Joe Haden, running back James Conner and tight end Vance McDonald are starters who missed practice time this week but were given the green light Friday to play in Sunday’s game at the San Francisco 49ers. Conner suffered a knee injury during the second half of last week’s loss to the Seattle Seahawks, and McDonald had a back injury that prevented him from practicing fully Wednesday.

#Steelers tight end Vance McDonald said his injured back felt better and confirmed that he returned to full-practice.

Sunday, McDonald will return to San Francisco, 25 months after his trade from the 49ers.https://t.co/OJdt8HWsIi

— Tribune-ReviewSports (@TribSports) September 20, 2019

Haden suffered a sprained AC joint in his shoulder during Week 1. Although he has been practicing sparingly since, he played a full game against the Seahawks.

Haden said he “definitely” felt better this week than he did last Friday at the end of a practice week. Haden said the shoulder bothered him “a little bit” during last week’s loss.

“It hurts, but you kind of just get past that just knowing it’s going to be there a little bit,” Haden said. “But I can still get full range of motion and everything. That’s the main thing.”

Inside linebacker Vince Williams (hamstring), special-teamer Roosevelt Nix (knee) and reserve outside linebacker Anthony Chickillo (foot) were declared out for Sunday’s game.

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