The Pittsburgh Steelers will be even more understaffed than expected in week 17.
The team announced on Saturday that cornerback Joe Haden, Eric Ebron and linebacker Cassius Marsh were put on the reserve / COVID-19 list the day before the scheduled game against the Cleveland Browns. ESPN’s Brooke Pryor reported that Ebron had previously posted a video of his and Marsh’s family spending time at Haden’s house.
Inclusion on the reserve / COVID-19 list means that a player has either tested positive for COVID-19 or has been identified as close contact with an infected person.
Steelers will be missing several starters against Browns
The Steelers were already well below 100 percent against Cleveland after ruling out quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, center Maurkice Pouncey, the defensive tackle against Cameron Heyward and linebacker TJ Watt with injury-free designations.
Starting safety Terrelly Edmunds and Chris Boswell were also excluded with injuries.
Joe Haden will miss Sunday’s game against the Browns, his old team. (AP Photo / Phelan M. Ebenhack)
Week 17 game means little to the Steelers, whose only unknown to the playoffs is whether they’ll be second or third seed in the AFC. A win over the Browns and a loss to the Buffalo Bills would give the Steelers second seed behind the 14-1 Kansas City Chiefs, anything else would mean third seed.
Meanwhile, the Browns face a win-and-in scenario as they would likely need a loss from the Indianapolis Colts to make the playoffs if they fell to the understaffed Steelers.
The Steelers may be playing for more than the playoff position, however, as Roethlisberger’s expulsion means Mason Rudolph is against the team whose star Myles Garrett infamously showered him with his own helmet and then accused him of using a racial fraud, starts in the middle. Both men have stated that they want to postpone the incident, but you have to imagine that a win to potentially eliminate the Browns would be pretty sweet for Pittsburgh.
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