The Pittsburgh Steelers are banged up at the moment as their season hangs on by a thread. After losing Le'Veon Bell for the season to a knee injury, Ben Roethlisberger went down with a foot injury. With two of their major stars hurting, depth becomes a priority. Well, now that depth is getting hurt as DeAngelo Williams admits he is not healthy heading into Week 10.
According to head coach Mike Tomlin via ESPN.com, Williams is dealing with a foot issue that is keeping him out of practice for the time being. This is not good news for the Steelers. Pittsburgh cannot afford for Williams to go down as he is the primary backup to Bell. Without him the team has Jordan Todman, Isaiah Pead and Fitzgerald Toussaint on the practice squad. The team released Dri Archer last week which puts pressure on Williams to play. With Tomlin being non-committal on Williams' status going forward, the Steelers could have issues.
Tomlin stressed his confident in Todman to step up and either replace or help Williams. The running back was signed back in September, but has yet to see any real playing time. With Pead being more of a project back, the Steelers could look to the free agent market for help if needed. Montee Ball, Pierre Thomas, and Steven Jackson are the best available backs right now for teams. Adding a healthy body to the roster would certainly not be the worst thing in the world.
"Todman is ready," Tomlin said, via the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette "He's been here for an extended period of time now. He's been here enough time now to have the details necessary to perform above the line. We're still very much in the teaching mode with Pead. Obviously, how he performs from a detailed and assignment standpoint during the course of this week will dictate whether or not he's going to be part of the equation at the end of the week."
There is a chance that Roethlisberger could be back on the field in Week 10. After suffering a foot injury, the quarterback noted that he had no plans on ruling himself out against the Cleveland Browns. According to ESPN.com, the Steelers are preparing as if Landry Jones will be getting the start as he is taking all of the first-team reps. Roethlisberger is hopeful to get on the field, but with the team's bye week coming up next, taking a few weeks off to heal might be the preferred method from the coaching staff.
"The [Week 11] bye will come at a good time, but I'm not even going to rule myself out this week," Roethlisberger said on "The Cook and Poni Show" on 93.7 The Fan. "I'm going to take it one day at a time. ... I can walk on it. I'm not running around or anything but the smart thing to do, from what doc has told me and the trainers is just to kinda keep ice on it and get the swelling out and just kind of rest it, let it heal."
