Steelers Now
PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Steelers have ruled out cornerback Darius Slay for the team’s Week 11 game against the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday.
Slay is still in the concussion protocol after suffering a concussion in Sunday night’s loss to the Los Angeles Chargers. He missed practice on Wednesday and Thursday and was limited on Friday.
Slay got injured on a friendly fire incident when making a tackle on Chargers running back Kimani Vidal. Safeties Kyle Duggar and Jalen Ramsey collided into Slay’s helmet.
Slay went out of the blue medical tent and walked to the Steelers locker room with the NFL red-hat independent neurological consultant.
James Pierre replaced Slay at the left cornerback position. Pierre made an instant impact by slamming Chargers wide receiver Derius Davis.
“James is always game,” Tomlin said. “I thought he played really well. But I thought he’s played really well when called upon all year. I think it’s reflective of how he prepares and the level of professionalism that he brings day in and day out.”
“It’s been cool to watch the growth and development of his career over the time that he’s been here,” Tomlin said. “If you remember, he was an undrafted Covid guy.
“I think globally it was single-digit guys that made rosters undrafted that Covid year. He’s been one of them,” Tomlin said. I didn’t meet him until we reported to camp. That’s a memory.”
Bengals star wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase gave an honest assessment on Porter ahead of Sunday’s game.
“Handsy, really handsy,” Chase said on Thursday when asked about Porter.
Chase avoided giving any bulletin board material when asked if he liked his matchup against Porter.
“I like any matchup with me,” Chase replied.
Chase reeled in a single-game career-high 16 passes for 161 yards in the Bengals’ 33-31 win over the Steelers on Oct. 16. Tee Higgins nearly eclipsed 100 receiving yards, as well. The Steelers got handsy and dealt with pass interference calls throughout the night, which has been a common theme in recent games against the Bengals.
Alan Saunders provided reporting from Pittsburgh.
This article originally appeared on Steelers Now: Steelers Will Be Without Key Starter vs. Bengals
