The Steelers could be without quarterback Ben Roethlisberger Sunday when they face the Bengals at Heinz Field.
Roethlisberger was among four players placed on the reserve/COVID list on Tuesday following the team's investigation into contact tracing involving tight end Vance McDonald, who tested positive for the virus following Sunday's 24-19 win at Dallas.
Also placed on the list were linebacker Vince Williams, running back Jaylen Samuels and offensive lineman Jerald Hawkins. Thus far, all four of the players have tested negative for the virus.
The four will have to isolate for the five days and will not be permitted to join the team this week at the UMPC-Rooney Sports Complex. They are permitted to take place in virtual meetings.
Mike Tomlin said there is a chance, because of their veteran status, that both Roethlisberger and Williams could play, provided they make it through the testing protocol without turning up positive for the virus.
Tomlin has typically not had players start a game after a week in which they did not practice all week, however he has made exceptions for veteran players. Roethlisberger, who is in his 17th NFL season, and Williams, who is in his eighth year, would certainly qualify as veterans and Tomlin said they both could play against Cincinnati.
"Those guys will be working remotely," said Tomlin. "As long as those guys test negative, we believe there will be an opportunity that they will be made available to us on Saturday. Some of the guys have more experience than others. And so, we'll lean on that experience, guys like Ben and Vince Williams will have an opportunity to suit up for us this weekend. They'll simply work remotely and sharpen their sword in that way.
"We're optimistic those guys will be themselves if given an opportunity to play this weekend."
The Steelers are under the league's intensive protocol for the second consecutive week making all position meetings virtual. Team meetings may be done in person, as long as players can be separated appropriately. Last week, that meant the team used its indoor practice facility for social distancing purposes to hold team meetings.
Mike Tomlin said all meetings will be done virtually this week.
McDonald, one of Roethlisberger's closest friends on the team, missed practice last Friday with an illness, but tested negative for coronavirus. He flew with the team to Dallas on Saturday and appeared in 24 plays against the Cowboys.
The Steelers also had an unidentified staff member test positive on Saturday.
Tomlin said the Steelers followed league protocol by allowing McDonald to travel to Dallas.
"Those aren't decisions that are made by us, it is really cut and dried," said Tomlin. "It's in the procedural policy of COVID established in New York by the NFL. As long as he is negative and isn't showing signs of COVID, he is able to travel. He was and we did. We don't overanalyze it in that way. We utilize all the mechanisms at our disposal to minimize interactions. We're all masked up. We're all exercising good personal hygiene and social distancing. We're doing all the things that are asked and that's our mindset regarding it."
McDonald will not be available to the team for at least 10 days, as long as he no longer exhibits symptoms. He must then test negative multiple times over a 72-hour period before he can rejoin the team.
The positive test came a week after the Steelers played the Ravens the previous weekend in Baltimore and cornerback Marlon Humphrey tested positive following the game.
If Roethlisberger is unable to play, Mason Rudolph would get the start for the Steelers against the Bengals (2-5-1), who are coming off a bye week.
Rudolph has completed three of his four passes this season for nine yards. He started two games against the Bengals in 2019 with Roethlisberger out for the year with an elbow injury, completing 32 of 44 passes for 314 yards with two touchdowns and one interception. But he was pulled from the second start in Cincinnati after completing just half of his 16 passes for 85 yards and an interception.
Roethlisberger has been a big reason for the Steelers' 8-0 start this season, the best in franchise history, throwing 18 touchdown passes against just four interceptions. He's also led the team to a pair of fourth quarter comebacks in the past two weeks beating the Ravens and Cowboys.
Not having Williams also would be a blow. He leads the Steelers with 45 tackles and the NFL with 14 tackles for a loss. Williams also has recorded three sacks.
The Steelers are already without fellow starting inside linebacker Devin Bush, who is out for the year with a torn ACL suffered last month in a win over the Browns.
With McDonald on the reserve/COVID list, the Steelers re-signed running back Trey Edmunds Tuesday. Edmunds was released Saturday to make room on the 53-man roster for linebacker Avery Williamson.