Coach Mike Tomlin detailed the following injury information during his weekly news conference at noon on Tuesday from the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex:
TOMLIN'S INJURY UPDATE
"We have a couple of guys who have missed some time who are scheduled to work without restrictions this week, which means they will be available for action, and we'll be glad to have them back. Those guys are Derek Watt (hamstring) and Jordan Dangerfield (quad).
"There were some injuries that happened in-game, and player availability will be determined by their ability to work (in practice) this week and the quality of that work. That would be Tyson Alualu (knee) and Cam Heyward (quad). Mike Hilton (shoulder) continues to work his way back from his injury. We're more optimistic about Cam Heyward, and it's a wait-and-see regarding Tyson.
"With a number of those guys being at the defensive line position, we'll be calling on a number of our guys who have made up the depth at that position. They'll have an opportunity to rise up and play quality ball for us.
"We've seen a lot of that in recent weeks, starting with Robert (Spillane) at the inside linebacker position. We're going to have an opportunity with guys like Isaiah Buggs and Henry Mondeaux and maybe even Carlos Davis having an opportunity to rise up for us this week in potential replacement for guys like Tyson and (Chris) Wormley, who's (on injured reserve)."
Later, Tomlin was asked about the availability of inside linebacker Ulysees Gilbert, who was inactive for four of the first five games and then was unavailable for last Sunday's game in Baltimore with a back injury. An issue with his back also hampered Gilbert for a large portion of his rookie season of 2019. "We'll see," answered Tomlin. "It depends on how his back behaves."
This also is the week the Steelers have to make a decision on whether to activate veteran offensive lineman Stefen Wisniewski from injured reserve or leave him on the list for the rest of the season. Wisniewski injured a pectoral in the opener against the New York Giants. Said Tomlin about whether the team has to make a decision on Wisniewski this week: "We do, and we will."
