The veteran safety was held out of practice all week after suffering a ribs injury during the Steelers' Week 10 win over the Packers, and he'll be forced to miss the team's next four games after going on IR. Neal was able to record 50 total tackles, two pass deflections and one interception in the nine games before his injury. Damontae Kazee is expected to start at strong safety until Neal can return to the field.
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Status
IR - Ribs - Not Specified Expected Return: 2023-12-17Latest Keanu Neal news
Defensive
The veteran safety was held out of practice all week after suffering a ribs injury during the Steelers' Week 10 win over the Packers, and he'll be forced to miss the team's next four games after going on IR. Neal was able to record 50 total tackles, two pass deflections and one interception in the nine games before his injury. Damontae Kazee is expected to start at strong safety until Neal can return to the field.
Neal has seen an increased role over the past three weeks while Minkah Fitzpatrick has been absent due to a hamstring issue, but the former will now be forced to sit out as well. That will likely mean that Damontae Kazee and Elijah Riley will be very busy Sunday versus Cleveland. Neal wasn't able to practice at all this week, so his status for Week 12 against Cincinnati is up in the air as well.
Neal tallied a season-high eight tackles along with his first interception of the season when he caught a tipped pass during the fourth quarter of Sunday's 23-19 win against Green Bay. However, he apparently came down on the ball awkwardly while being tackled on the play and had to be attended by members of Pittsburgh's training staff, according to Alan Saunders of SteelersNow.com. While Neal never received an official injury designation in-game and said he would be "OK" postgame, it appears this injury kept him sidelined for the Steelers' first practice session Week 11. The starting strong safety will now have two more sessions to improve his status before Sunday's divisional matchup at Cleveland.
Team
Pittsburgh Steelers
Birthdate
7/26/1995 (28)
Status
Injured Reserve
HT/WT
6'0", 211 lbs
Draft Info
2016: Rd 1; Pk 17 (ATL)
Birthplace
Bushnell, FL, USA
Position
SAF
College
Florida
Experience
8th season
Career History
Atlanta Falcons
2016 - 2021
(5 seasons)
Dallas Cowboys
2021 - 2021
(1 season)
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
2022 - 2022
(1 season)
Pittsburgh Steelers
2023 - Present
(1 season)
Previous Game
23
Final
19
8
TOTAL
0
SACK
1
INT
2023 Season Stats
SK
TK
AST
INT
TFL
0
33
17
1
0