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On Friday afternoon the Pittsburgh Steelers issued their third and final injury/participation report of the week and there was some bad news insofar as placekicker Chris Boswell missed practice with his groin injury. He has already been ruled out of the season-finale against the Cleveland Browns.
That presents a potential problem, because the Steelers will need to sign practice squad kicker Matthew Wright to the 53-man roster for him to play on Sunday. In other words, a player currently on the roster will need to be waived or cut or placed on injured reserve to make room for him. Last week a similar scenario resulted in the Steelers losing offensive lineman Derwin Gray to the Jacksonville Jaguars.
The good news is that Wright has performed capably in the two games in which he has appeared. He has made all six of his extra-point attempts and his only field goal attempt (37 yards). Accuracy hasn’t been an issue for the Central Florida product, either in the preseason (2019) or in the two regular-season games in which he has played. Rather, a decided lack of leg strength appears to be what is holding him back from becoming an NFL starter.
Steelers Safety Terrell Edmunds Also Ruled Out
The other bad news from Friday’s injury report is that starting strong safety Terrell Edmunds missed practice for a third day in a row with a shoulder injury and has also been ruled out of Sunday’s game.
It will be the first contest Edmunds has missed in his three-year NFL career (47 games, 43 starts). Edmunds has been about as durable as one can be since coming into the league as Pittsburgh’s first-round pick in 2018. In fact, it was just a month ago that Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin described Edmunds’ “best ability” as his availability, a fitting descriptor for a player one analyst views as a good candidate for a hypothetical NFL All-Average Team.
With Edmunds out of the lineup, former Steelers second-round pick Sean Davis is likely to get the start at strong safety, though Jordan Dangerfield may also see time at the position, particularly if free safety Minkah Fitzpatrick doesn’t play the entire game and Davis slots into his position at some point.
Davis has appeared in all 15 games this season, but has played sparingly except for special teams. He has been on the field for just 14 snaps on defense this season and has been credited with six total tackles (5 solo), as well as one fumble recovery. The Steelers re-acquired Davis in early September after Washington released him to realize salary cap savings.
WR Diontae Johnson Missed Practice Friday
In one other piece of news from Friday, starting wide receiver Diontae Johnson missed the team’s last full practice of the week with an unspecified illness.
If Johnson doesn’t play on Sunday, third-year receiver James Washington would likely get the start in his place.
Last week, Johnson caught a 39-yard touchdown pass from Ben Roethlisberger that sparked the team’s second-half comeback against the Indianapolis Colts.
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