Roethlisberger, Watt, Haden, Bush practice for Steelers; Johnson, Highsmith do not
Ben Roethlisberger and T.J. Watt were limited at Pittsburgh Steelers practice Thursday, and Joe Haden and Devin Bush were full participants three days before a Week 3 divisional game.
Three players who would potentially start Sunday’s game against the Cincinnati Bengals, though, did not practice because of injury: receiver Diontae Johnson, linebacker Alex Highsmith and defensive lineman Carlos Davis.
Johnson, who injured his knee on the final play of Sunday’s game, joins Highsmith (groin) and Davis (knee) as players who were kept out of both practices so far this week. Barring a turnaround in time for Friday’s practice, their status for Sunday’s game is in doubt.
But it was encouraging for the Steelers that arguably their most important players on offense (quarterback Roethlisberger) and defense (linebacker Watt) took to the practice field, albeit in a limited capacity. Roethlisberger suffered a pectoral injury during Sunday’s loss to the Las Vegas Raiders, and Watt did not play in the second halfbecause of a groin injury.
Cornerback Haden and linebacker Bush did not play in Sunday’s game after each suffered a groin injury two days prior. Bush practiced fully Wednesday, but Haden’s Thursday status was an upgrade from being limited Wednesday.
Also not practicing Thursday were special-teamer Marcus Allen (abdomen) and reserve cornerback Justin Layne (Achilles). Allen’s injury is newly reported.
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Chris Adamski is a TribLive reporter who has covered primarily the Pittsburgh Steelers since 2014 following two seasons on the Penn State football beat. A Western Pennsylvania native, he joined the Trib in 2012 after spending a decade covering Pittsburgh sports for other outlets. He can be reached at cadamski@triblive.com.
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