Joe Sargent/Getty Images Joe Haden #23 celebrates with Chris Wormley #95 and Mike Hilton #28 of the Pittsburgh Steelers after intercepting a pass on September 20, 2020.
On Tuesday afternoon Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin was “back in the kitchen,” so to speak, talking about AFC North ball and this week’s matchup against the Baltimore Ravens during his weekly press conference.
As part of that, Tomlin provided updates on the injuries suffered in-game against the Tennessee Titans, the most significant of which might be the knee injury incurred by backup defensive lineman Chris Wormley, who Tomlin said “is being evaluated as we speak,” referring to an MRI.
“I don’t know what his availability will be,” added Tomlin.
Meanwhile, “[Jordan] Dangerfield has a quad injury that may limit him in the early portions of the week. We’ll let his availability and the quality of his work be our guide in terms of him being available for the game,” advised Tomlin, referring to the backup safety, who has six tackles thus far this season.
Most of the rest of the injury news was positive.
“We have a couple of guys who have positioned themselves to work their way back into game action [and are] scheduled to practice,” said Tomlin. “Those guys are Mike Hilton and Derek Watt. We’ll assess their health and performance through the course of the week and make prudent decisions in that regard.”
Both Hilton and Watt missed last week’s game against the Titans with shoulder and hamstring injuries, respectively.
Tomlin was also asked about the injury status of insider linebacker Robert Spillane, who was favoring his shoulder after stopping Titans running back Derrick Henry in his tracks on Pittsburgh’s goal line:
Robert Spillane’s hit on Derrick Henry at the Goal Line. That sound. 👀 #Steelers
“His shoulder is fine. I’m sure there’s some residue, if you will,” said Tomlin. “But I don’t think it will limit his participation or preparation in any way as we get ready for Baltimore.”
Mike Tomlin on Chris Boswell, Jordan Berry
In one other notable exchange, Tomlin was specifically asked about the team’s kickoff and punt coverage being better, to which he said: “It starts with the kickers themselves. I can’t say enough about the placement of the ball of Boz [Chris Boswell] in the kickoff game that is allowing us to get guys in close quarters and allowing us to get down the field and cover.
“We are getting good placement from the kickers themselves in terms of where the ball is located and the hang time and the guys are getting down the field and working well collectively,” he added.
In other words, so far so good in terms of changing punters. After the October 18 game against the Cleveland Browns the Steelers released Dustin Colquitt and re-signed Jordan Berry. Against the Titans, Berry punted twice, placing both kicks inside the 20 with an average of 50 yards per punt.
You can watch Tomlin’s presser in its entirety below:
Bengals-Steelers Game Flexed
In other news, the NFL has flexed Pittsburgh’s Week 10 game against the Cincinnati Bengals. The game, which will be played on Sunday November 15 at Heinz Field, has been changed from a 1 p.m. ET kickoff to a 4:25 p.m. kickoff.
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