The Steelers are set to have Joey Porter Jr. back in the lineup on Saturday, but another cornerback could miss their game against the Bengals.
Porter missed Week 17 with a knee injury, but he practiced all of this week and has no injury designation for Saturday night. Donte Jackson is listed as questionable, however. Jackson was added to the report on Wednesday with a back injury and he was limited in practice on Thursday.
The Steelers also announced that they will not be activating wide receiver Roman Wilson (hamstring), defensive lineman Logan Lee (calf), or linebacker Cole Holcomb (knee) ahead of their matchup with the Bengals. All three could be activated ahead of the team’s first playoff game.
Quarterback Justin Fields (abdoment), running back Jaylen Warren (ribs), and wide receiver Ben Skowronek (hip) joined Porter in avoiding injury designations, so all three of them should be available.
The Bengals handed out injury designations for Saturday’s game against the Steelers and a couple of key skill position players earned questionable tags.
Running back Chase Brown remained out of practice with the ankle injury he suffered in last Saturday’s win over the Broncos while wide receiver Tee Higgins was a limited participant due to the ankle and knee issues that landed him on the report. Higgins caught the game-winning touchdown in overtime against Denver, so he may be a better bet to play than Brown.
Right tackle Amarius Mims (ankle, hand) did not practice Thursday and is listed as questionable along with wide receiver Charlie Jones (groin), tight end Drew Sample (groin), and cornerback Cam Taylor-Britt (ankle). Defensive end Sam Hubbard (knee) has been ruled out.
The Bengals need a win and losses by the Broncos and Dolphins to qualify for the playoffs.
Quarterback Lamar Jackson and the Ravens have their sights set on bigger prizes this season, but they can celebrate being the team with the most players selected for the Pro Bowl for the time being.
Nine Ravens players have been selected to take part in the Pro Bowl Games in Orlando. In addition to Jackson, the Ravens Pro Bowlers are quarterback Lamar Jackson, running back Derrick Henry, fullback Patrick Ricard, wide receiver Zay Flowers, center Tyler Linderbaum, defensive tackle Nnamdi Madubuike, linebacker Roquan Smith, cornerback Marlon Humphrey, and safety Kyle Hamilton.
The event will conclude with a flag football game on February 2, although the Ravens will be hoping to miss that event because they’re in New Orleans for the Super Bowl.
The full rosters for the AFC and NFC are listed below:
AFC
Quarterback: Josh Allen, Joe Burrow, Lamar Jackson.
Running Back: Derrick Henry, Joe Mixon, Jonathan Taylor.
Fullback: Patrick Ricard.
Wide receiver: Ja’Marr Chase, Jerry Jeudy, Nico Collins, Zay Flowers.
Tight end: Brock Bowers, Travis Kelce.
Offensive tackle: Dion Dawkins, Laremy Tunsil, Rashawn Slater.
Offensive guard: Quenton Nelson, Joe Thuney, Trey Smith.
Center: Creed Humphrey, Tyler Linderbaum.
Defensive end: Myles Garrett, Trey Hendrickson, Maxx Crosby.
Interior defensive lineman: Cam Heyward, Chris Jones, Nnamdi Madubuike.
Outside linebackers: Nik Bonitto, T.J. Watt, Khalil Mack.
Inside linebackers: Roquan Smith, Zaire Franklin.
Cornerback: Derek Stingley, Pat Surtain II, Denzel Ward, Marlon Humphrey.
Free safety: Minkah Fitzpatrick.
Strong safety: Kyle Hamilton, Derwin James.
Long snapper: Ross Matiscik.
Punter: Logan Cooke.
Kicker: Chris Boswell.
Kick returner: Marvin Mims.
Special teamer: Brenden Schooler.
NFC
Quarterback: Jared Goff, Jayden Daniels, Sam Darnold.
Running back: Saquon Barkley, Jahmyr Gibbs, Josh Jacobs.
Fullback: Kyle Juszczyk.
Wide receiver: Justin Jefferson, Amon-Ra St. Brown, CeeDee Lamb, Terry McLaurin.
Tight end: George Kittle, Trey McBride.
Offensive tackle: Lane Johnson, Penei Sewell, Tristan Wirfs.
Offensive guard: Landon Dickerson, Tyler Smith, Chris Lindstrom.
Center: Frank Ragnow, Cam Jurgens.
Defensive end: Nick Bosa, Micah Parsons, Rashan Gary.
Interior defensive lineman: Jalen Carter, Dexter Lawrence, Vita Vea.
Outside linebacker: Jonathan Greenard, Andrew Van Ginkel, Jared Verse.
Inside linebacker: Fred Warner, Zack Baun.
Cornerback: Jaylon Johnson, Byron Murphy, Jaycee Horn, Devon Witherspoon.
Free safety: Xavier McKinney.
Strong safety: Budda Baker, Brian Branch.
Long snapper: Andrew DePaola.
Punter: Jack Fox.
Kicker: Brandon Aubrey.
Kick returner: KaVontae Turpin.
Special teamer: KhaDarel Hodge.
Russell Wilson made a lot of smart decisions in his first seven starts with the Steelers, but the last three weeks have not been as fruitful.
Wilson threw two interceptions and lost two fumbles during a three-game losing streak that knocked the Steelers out of first place in the AFC North. They’ll need a win and a Ravens loss to the Browns to move back into the top spot, but they need a better performance with any result to put them on better footing for the postseason and they’ll need a cleaner performance from Wilson for any of that to have any chance of happening.
On Wednesday, Wilson said wiping his memory clean is essential to getting one.
“I think the most important thing is you have got to have amnesia,” Wilson said, via the team’s website. “This is one of those games that they’ve got good players. We’ve got good players. There’s going to be highs, there’s going to be lows throughout a game, throughout season, throughout all that. And just having amnesia, that’s when the great things are happening, to be able to move on and move to the next play. I think that’s going to be key for winning football.”
The Steelers need to find that key or it will be a short stay in the playoffs ahead of a new round of questions about what they’ll do at quarterback in the future.
Every year for more than half a century, the Steelers have awarded a team MVP, voted upon by all the players on the team. And no player in franchise history has received that award as many times as T.J. Watt.
Watt has been announced as the 2024 winner of the Steelers MVP award. He also won it in 2023, 2021, 2020 and 2019.
The Steelers have had a lot of Hall of Famers in their franchise history, but none of them won the team MVP four times: Joe Greene, Franco Harris, Mel Blount, Donnie Shell each won it once, Terry Bradshaw, John Stallworth and Jack Lambert each won it twice, and Rod Woodson and Jerome Bettis each won it three times. The only other Steeler to win it four times before Watt was Antonio Brown. The Steelers have been choosing a team MVP for 56 years.
“It’s awesome,” said Watt. “It’s a great honor that I don’t take lightly. It matters most that the guys that see what I do each and every day, and to have it come from them means a lot to me.”
For Watt to stand apart on a franchise with as rich a history as the Steelers represents an enormous achievement, and a big part of a Hall of Fame résumé.
