Steelers Now
PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Steelers played their Week 9 game against the Indianapolis Colts with just two natural safeties on their roster thanks to an injury and illness crunch, but it seems like things are trending up for Week 10.
Head coach Mike Tomlin said on Tuesday that safety Chuck Clark, who has started four games for the Steelers this season at safety, is expected to be back in the lineup this Sunday. Clark missed the Steelers’ Week 9 win over the Indianapolis Colts last Sunday with an unspecified illness.
That’s been going around, as linebacker Cole Holcomb also missed the game due to injury. Tomlin said he hasn’t had to deal with multiple players missing games due to illness since the COVID-19 pandemic.
Despite his return to the lineup, Clark probably won’t be back in a starting role. Tomlin said that he expects Jalen Ramsey to remain at free safety, where he played in an emergency capacity on Sunday, for at least another week, as he and newly acquired strong safety Kyle Dugger paired well together in the Pittsburgh secondary.
In six games, Clark has 33 tackles, two tackles for loss, one quarterback hit, one pass defended and one forced fumble.
While starting strong safety DeShon Elliott, remains on injured reserve and is out long-term, Jabrill Peppers, the other safety that missed last Sunday’s game, could also return this week. He’s dealing with a quad injury, and Tomlin said he’ll have a chance to play if he practices well this week.
This article originally appeared on Steelers Now: Steelers Expect to Get At Least One Safety Back This Week
