The Steelers had their final practice of the week today at the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex on the South Side in preparation for their regular-season finale against the Cleveland Browns on Sunday.
Strong safety Terrell Edmunds (shoulder) and Chris Boswell (groin) have both been ruled out for Sunday's game. Edmunds did not practice all week and Boswell missed the last two days of practice. With Edmunds out, it's expected that Sean Davis will fill in for him at strong safety.
This is the third game this year that Boswell will miss. He was out last Sunday against the Indianapolis Colts with a groin injury that continues to be an issue and missed the Week 13 game against the Washington Football Team with a hip injury. Matthew Wright, who is on the practice squad will most likely be the kicker against Cleveland. Wright is 1 of 1 on field-goal attempts and has made all six of his extra points in the two games that he played this year when Boswell was inactive.
Wide receiver Diontae Johnson missed practice on Friday due to an illness. Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, center Maurkice Pouncey, outside linebacker T.J. Watt and defensive tackle Cameron Heyward also did not practice today, all of which were not injury-related. Pouncey and Watt did not practice all week. It was reported on Thursday by Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that in addition to Ben Roethlisberger being held out of Sunday's game, outside linebacker T.J. Watt, center Maurkice Pouncey and defensive tackle Cam Heyward will also not play against the Browns.
Defensive lineman Stephon Tuitt (back) and Tyson Alualu (ankle), along with linebackers Marcus Allen (stinger) and Ola Adeniyi (shoulder) were full participants and are not on the status report.
For the Browns, offensive lineman Nick Harris has been ruled out for Sunday's game. Linebackers Tae Davis (ankle) and Sione Takitaki (ankle), along with offensive lineman Kendall Lamm (illness) and Wyatt Teller (ankle) are listed as questionable.
The Browns have been dealing with a COVID-19 situation this week, but they had no positive tests on Friday and they were able to conduct a practice. On Thursday, the Browns' facility was closed due to positive tests. The Browns announced on Thursday that they've placed linebacker Malcolm Smith and cornerback Denzel Ward on the reserve/COVID-19 list. Both Smith and Ward will be out for Sunday's game, but both reportedly tested positive, so they could possibly miss a playoff game if the Browns were to make the postseason.
Cleveland also activated wide receiver Rashard Higgins, wide receiver KhaDarel Hodge, wide receiver Jarvis Landry, wide receiver Donovan Peoples-Jones and linebacker Jacob Phillips from the reserve/COVID-19 list on Thursday.