Joe Sargent/Getty Images Diontae Johnson #18 celebrates his touchdown with JuJu Smith-Schuster #19 of the Pittsburgh Steelers during the fourth quarter against the Denver Broncos at Heinz Field on September 20, 2020.
On Thursday the Pittsburgh Steelers released their second injury report of the week and for the second day in a row, starting wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster missed practice with a knee injury.
It’s an injury that likely dates back to the season opener against the New York Giants, as Smith-Schuster spent time on the injury list last week as well.
And while this is speculation, it’s conceivable that the injury occurred when he recovered a Benny Snell Jr. fumble while under a pile of seven or eight Giants players.
Recalling the incident after the fact, Smith-Schuster mentioned how one knee and one finger were affected in the scrum.
“All I could feel were people punching,” Smith-Schuster said. “My left knee was about to bend, and my finger was twisting the opposite way. I had the ball on my right rib, and all I could do was apply pressure on the ball to keep it there.”
His extra effort on the play did not go unnoticed by teammates.
“To me, that [fumble recovery] shows the unselfishness of a team and of a player in JuJu,” said quarterback Ben Roethlisberger.
Yet now Smith-Schuster may be hampered by a lingering issue that bears watching going forward.
Steelers Week 3 Injury Report
Other than JuJu Smith-Schuster, the news is mostly good on the injury front.
Guard David DeCastro, who missed most of training camp and the first two games of the season with a knee issue, was a full participant in practice for the second consecutive day.
Meanwhile, Tyson Alualu (knee contusion) and Diontae Johnson (toe) both missed practice on Wednesday but were back on Thursday as full participants.
Finally, Roethlisberger, Maurkice Pouncey, Cameron Heyward and Stephon Tuitt were all back at practice after getting a veteran’s day off on Wednesday.
There was one new name on the injury report on Thursday, that being backup center J.C. Hassenuer, who has an ankle issue but was a full participant at Thursday’s practice.
A look at player injuries & practice participation for Week 3.
Houston Texans Injury Report
As for Pittsburgh’s opponent on Sunday, the Texans have a total of seven players on their injury list. None missed practice on Thursday but four were “limited,” those being wide receiver Brandin Cooks (quad), running back Duke Johnson (ankle), inside linebacker Peter Kalambayi (hamstring) and offensive tackle Laremy Tunsil (elbow).
The most notable name among the “full participants” is defensive end J.J. Watt, who is apparently dealing with a groin issue. Watt is accompanied by fullback Cullen Gillaspia (concussion) and guard/tackle Tytus Howard (ankle).
Chase Claypool aka “Mapletron”
In one other bit of media news from Thursday, Steelers rookie receiver Chase Claypool did a conference call with media outlets in Canada, in which he spoke about the origins of his nickname “Mapletron.”
“The Mapletron [nickname] came up after the combine when I ran the [4.42 40-yard dash] time,” said Claypool. “There was a pool on Twitter for a nickname. It was a fan favorite name. Pretty clever. When I ran it through my teammates they thought it was kind of funny.”
“Mapletron” is a nod to former NFL wide receiver Calvin Johnson, aka “Megatron.” Claypool is the first wide receiver to run a sub 4.45 40-yard dash at over 230 pounds at the Combine since Megatron did it in 2003.
Never mind that Claypool isn’t exactly wild about the nickname.
“We call him Mapletron, but he doesn’t like it,” says fellow WR Smith-Schuster. “He tried for Air Canada, but we were like ‘Nah, that’s Vince Carter’s (nickname).’ He’s tried to figure some out, but it’s Mapletron. It’s funny, it’s catchy, it’s lit, so he’s going to have to ride with it.”
At least for now.
“It’s a fan given nickname,” said Claypool. “I am going to be more neutral on that and see what nickname comes my way. We’ll stick with Mapletron for now.”
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