The Steelers not only fell to 1-3 in their 24-20 loss to the Jets, they had a few key players banged up in the process.
Most notably, Cam Heyward suffered injuries to his elbow and right ankle. He was able to return to the game, but admitted afterward he got an x-ray during halftime, He was also gingerly walking around in the locker room with his right ankle heavily wrapped.
"Physically, you know, you get some bumps and bruises that come with the job. Just the way it is," Heyward said. "Won't make an excuse for it. I was able to come back from it. But, yeah, took some hits."
A banged up Heyward can only hurt a defense that is struggling, especially in the fourth quarter of games. Not to mention, there's still a guy named T.J. Watt that won't be available for at least another week with a torn pec.
In addition to Heyward, Terrell Edmunds was injured late in the second quarter after colliding with Michael Carter on a pass down the sideline. Both players made a play on the ball, but Edmunds took the brunt of the collision and was down on the ground for a couple minutes before walking off the field under his own power.
However, it was announced shortly thereafter that Edmunds was ruled out of the game and in the concussion protocol. In light of what happened with Tua Tagovailoa last Thursday, any clearance from the protocol will not be as easy as it was a few days ago.
The NFL and NFLPA are expected to make a change to the protocol, focusing on player instability. Now, if a player exhibits physical instability after an injury that activates concussion protocol, that player will not be able to return to the game under any circumstance. Part of how this will be done will be changing the language of the "Gross motor instability" section of the protocol, making the definition less subjective. The two sides expect the updated protocol to be in place by Week 5.
Minkah Fitzpatrick also suffered a knee injury during the Jets' game-winning drive. He was able to come right back after sitting out one mandatory play, and seemed to be in good spirits about the injury in the locker room after the game.
Mike Tomlin also confirmed Cam Sutton suffered a hamstring injury during the game. There were no further updates on the severity of any of the injuries.
All of the injuries happening on the defensive side of the ball really puts the team in a tough spot, with or without Watt. Now 1-3 on the season, the Steelers will next travel to Buffalo in Week 5, host Tom Brady and the Buccaneers in Week 6, then play back-to-back road games against the Dolphins and undefeated Eagles before the bye week.
