Brown misses practice with toe injury; 3 other starters out, too

Playing on Monday night can be a double-edged sword. It gives players an extra day of rest in preparation for the game, but it eliminates a day of preparation the following week.

The Steelers are hoping that extra day of rest this week means they’ll have some banged-up starters ready for the game.

The Steelers went through practice Friday without four starters. Receiver Antonio Brown, inside linebacker Ryan Shazier and free safety Mike Mitchell missed practice along with cornerback Joe Haden, who has already been ruled out by coach Mike Tomlin.

Brown’s injury is new. He turned up on the injury report Friday with a toe injury. He was not at the team’s facility during or after practice.

Shazier has not practiced this week. Mitchell did not practice Thursday or Friday. If they don’t practice Saturday it will be a strong indication they won’t play Monday night against the Cincinnati Bengals. The Steelers will announce their game status report Saturday afternoon.

Shazier is dealing with an ankle injury and Mitchell has been dealing with an ankle injury for the past few weeks. Mitchell missed the Thursday night game against the Tennessee Titans, but he returned last week to start against the Green Bay Packers.

The good news for the Steelers is receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster said he is ready to resume his usual role in the offense. He has been a full participant in practice all week after missing the Packers game with a hamstring injury.

Bryant to return again

Receiver Martavis Bryant is expected to return kickoffs for a second consecutive week. Bryant replaced Smith-Schuster against the Packers and had one return for 38 yards.

The Steelers haven’t been very good at returning kickoffs the past couple of seasons, but this is the time of year when more returns happen. As the weather turns colder, the ball doesn’t travel as far, making touchbacks less common.

Unscathed

Green Bay coach Mike McCarthy thought Steelers outside linebacker T.J. Watt had a helmet-to-helmet hit on his quarterback Brett Hundley on the Packers’ final drive Sunday night. Watt was not penalized, and the NFL did not fine him for the hit. Inside linebacker Vince Williams was penalized 15 yards for unnecessary roughness in the game, but he was not fined, either.