The Pittsburgh Steelers have officially announced who’s in and who’s out for Week 17 against the Kansas City Chiefs — which is taking place on Christmas Day.
The Athletic’s Mike DeFabo was among those relaying the news on December 24.
George Pickens has no injury designation and is poised to return after missing three games.
On defense, DeShon Elliott, Donte Jackson and Larry Ogunjobi will be back.
CB Joey Porter Jr. and WR Ben Skorownek are OUT.
Justin Fields is questionable.
“[Wide receiver] George Pickens has no injury designation and is poised to return after missing three games,” DeFabo began, adding that “[safety] DeShon Elliott, [cornerback] Donte Jackson and [defensive lineman] Larry Ogunjobi will [also] be back” on the defensive side.
Unfortunately, there were two “out” designations: starting cornerback Joey Porter Jr. and wide receiver/special teamer Ben Skowronek.
Backup quarterback Justin Fields was also listed as “questionable,” officially.
Steelers Final Injury Designations Go as Expected vs. Chiefs
If you caught the Steelers’ injury update on Monday afternoon, none of these designations should really surprise you.
Pickens, Elliott, Jackson and Ogunjobi all logged full practices on December 23. Barring some sort of setback, all four appeared to be on track to return and now that has been confirmed.
On the flip side, Porter and Skowronek did not practice on Monday, and Pittsburgh had been pretty transparent about the fact that their star CB might not be available.
The one real question mark is Fields, who injured his abdomen on a slide in Week 15.
Last week, Fields was unable to go following the injury, so Kyle Allen backed up Russell Wilson instead. That could be the case again tomorrow after a very quick turnaround from Saturday evening to Wednesday afternoon.
Chiefs Could Be Without Chris Jones vs. Steelers
On the opposing sideline, the Chiefs have a few injuries of their own on the short week — the headliner being game-wrecking defensive lineman Chris Jones.
After missing the first two practices of the week, Jones logged a “limited” practice on December 24. He is officially “questionable” with a calf strain.
Along with Jones, Chiefs starting right tackle Jawaan Taylor is questionable with a knee strain — although the integral offensive lineman did put in limited practices all week and appears to have a better shot at playing than the superstar D-lineman.
Officially, Kansas City will be without starting nickelback Chamarri Conner (concussion) and veteran left tackle D.J. Humphries (hamstring). Both were ruled out on Christmas Eve.
Humphries has technically taken over the starting role for the Chiefs at left tackle when healthy, but he’s only played one game since joining the franchise. Over the past few weeks, starting left guard Joe Thuney has shifted over to LT in place of Humphries and he’s done a tremendous job filling the void.
From there, backup interior offensive lineman Mike Caliendo has done well starting at left guard.
Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes is also still on the mend after suffering a high ankle sprain in Week 15 — although he was not listed on the injury report. Mahomes will undoubtedly start on Christmas Day, but his ankle doesn’t appear to be 100 percent yet despite all of his hard work and determination getting himself back onto the field.
When looking at this slew of injuries from a Steelers perspective, Taylor’s status stands out being that T.J. Watt rushes the right tackle position. Like Mahomes, Watt is only one week removed from an ankle sprain, but he could have a bit of an advantage there if Taylor is either unavailable or playing compromised.
Jones’ status will also be key, of course, and Steelers slot specialists Pat Freiermuth and Calvin Austin could benefit from Conner being ruled out.
