Roethlisberger, Highsmith latest additions to burgeoning injury report taken on the South Side (Steelers)

STEELERS

Ben Roethlisberger

The Steelers' injury report is starting to look like the list of video artists on a Pixar movie. Virtually everyone is involved.

Ben Roethlisberger and Alex Highsmith were the latest additions to that report Tuesday by Mike Tomlin, with the quarterback dealing with a pectoral injury on his left side and Highsmith added to the long list of Steelers dealing with a groin injury coming out of the team's 26-17 loss Sunday to the Las Vegas Raiders.

Obviously, any injury to Roethlisberger is noteworthy, though Tomlin said it might not necessarily keep the quarterback out of action when the Steelers (1-1) return to play next Sunday against the Bengals (1-1).

"That could affect him from a preparation standpoint," Tomlin said of Roethlisberger, who is scheduled to speak to the media Wednesday morning. "I don’t have an idea how much as I sit here right now, but we had better be ready to be adjustable and deal with that."

Roethlisberger was sacked twice and hit 10 times in the loss to the Raiders, as he dropped back to pass 40 times in the game. Roethlisberger took more shots down the field in the game, hence his 2.5 seconds to release the football -- up from 2.3 seconds in a Week 1 win over the Bills.

And while Roethlisberger did connect on a couple of long passes, hitting a 52-yard completion to Chase Claypool and a 41-yarder to Diontae Johnson, Tomlin still doesn't want his 39-year-old quarterback taking too many hits.

"Yeah, he did," Tomlin said when asked if Roethlisberger was hit too many hits. "He took too many hits. We can run the ball better. We can get the ball out of his hands quicker. We can stay on schedule and not get behind the sticks and get in situations where the line to gain is so far that it enhances the rush."

But, as he noted, he's not ready to make any changes to his offensive line.

"I’m not," he replied when asked that specific question.

If Roethlisberger cannot play against the Bengals, Mason Rudolph would likely get the start with Dwayne Haskins backing him up.

The situation at outside linebacker is a little more dicey.

The Steelers already know they'll be without Stephon Tuitt and Tyson Alualu in this game. Both are on injured reserve, Tuitt with a knee injury, while Alualu had surgery Monday to repair a fractured ankle suffered against the Raiders.

But T.J. Watt left the game against the Raiders in the second quarter with a groin injury, meaning that if Highsmith is out, the Steelers could be without both of their starting outside linebackers, as well.

Veteran Melvin Ingram and first-year player Jamir Jones are the only other outside linebackers on the active roster, though the Steelers do have veterans Derek Tuszka and Delontae Scott on their practice squad and signed former Cowboys first-round draft pick Taco Charlton to their practice squad, as well, on Tuesday. Charlton was released by the Chiefs at the end of training camp.

"Thankfully, in today’s NFL, with the flexibility with practice squads, we have all of the answers in house," Tomlin said. "We’re not necessarily worried about the injuries in terms of our expectations of performance. We have a week to prepare with known issues. In-game injuries cause more problems than known injuries like you have here at the top of the week. We’ll build a plan to highlight what we know will be available to us. We’ll leave the light on for some in question, and we’ll go in that stadium prepared to play."

With Alualu now out, the Steelers will lean more on Isaiah Buggs and Carlos Davis to take his place, while Henry Mondeaux has been activated from the practice squad to take his spot on the roster.

Meanwhile, Johnson, who aggravated a previous knee injury on the final play of the game against the Raiders, didn't suffer a long-term injury, but Tomlin was less than enthusiastic regarding his potential availability this week.

"He’s looking better, but not to be confused with great," Tomlin said of the team's leading receiver. "We’ll follow him and his health as we we get through the week."

The injuries to Watt and Highsmith highlight a rash of groin injuries the Steelers have suffered in the past week. Both Joe Haden and Devin Bush suffered groin injuries in practice last Friday and missed the game against the Raiders, as well.

Tomlin remains hopeful the Steelers will get at least one, if not more, of the players dealing with groin injuries back against the Bengals, with Haden being the most likely to return.

But he also noted that veteran players don't necessarily need to practice a lot to be able to play.

It leaves a lot of moving pieces for the Steelers as they prepare for their first AFC North game.

"We have a hot, hot kitchen in Pittsburgh this week with AFC North ball," Tomlin said. "We’ve got some challenges along the way. Those challenges don’t bring us down. Those challenges inspire us. This is a coach’s week. We’ve got to work and put these guys in position to perform, minimize our weaknesses and lean on our strengths while at the same time combating the things the Cincinnati Bengals do and do well."

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