The good news from the Steelers loss to the Bengals on Monday night is they came away relatively unscathed injury-wise.
While a week ago three players were being placed on injured reserve after the Titans game, it was only minor bumps and bruises that were suffered against the Bengals.
Linebacker Jarvis Jones, who made his first NFL start, suffered a heel contusion. Defensive end Brett Keisel suffered a left calf strain, while nose tackle Steve McLendon has a hamstring strain that Coach Mike Tomlin categorized as minor.
"I don't anticipate those things preventing them from participating against the Bears, but it may change how they work over the course of the week," said Tomlin. "It could slow them down at the early portions of the week."
Cornerback Curtis Brown was sidelined for the Bengals game after battling an illness last week and is expected to be ready to go against the Bears on Sunday night.
Tight end Heath Miller is expected to take his work to another level this week, after being only a partial participant in practice last week.
"We expect him to work fully this week and see where that participation takes us," said Tomlin. "Now make no mistake we are not expecting Heath to step out of a phone booth with a cape on, but we are looking forward to watching him work and letting the result of that work guide us as how we proceed throughout the week."
Running back Le'Veon Bell is also expected to see work in practice this week as he continues to fight his way back from a foot injury.
"Le'Veon is going to ramp up his activity with a minimum of at least individual work, and maybe even some more," said Tomlin.
