Week 8 Injury Report (Giants) 

The Steelers continued their preparation for Monday night’s game against the New York Giants, and once again, several players were missing on the field.

Center Zach Frazier continues to deal with his ankle injury that has him not practicing yet this week, keeping Ryan McCollum in the spotlight at the center position for the second straight week.

The line has been the one area on the team hit the hardest by injuries this season, with five different starting lineup combinations through seven games.

They easily could have folded with the rash of injuries, but instead have done the opposite.

“It just shows you how deep our whole line is, how good they are and how much of a team we have right now for those guys to step up for the guys who are that hurt,” said running back Najee Harris, who has two straight 100-yard games behind the line. “Guys come in there and play, and these guys never thinking that they had a chance early on and the tables turn so fast, and they’re put in a position where they’ve got to help us win.

“These past two weeks showed how good our line is, and I think it’s a credit to them for the success that we’re having on the ground. I always say I tip my hat off to them, Coach Pat (Meyer) and everybody in the room for helping us all out.”

Linebacker Alex Highsmith returned to the lineup last week against the Jets, and said this week he is even feeling closer to 100 percent. That bodes well with fellow outside linebacker Nick Herbig still not practicing with his hamstring injury.

“I definitely feel like I made it through well,” said Highsmith of the Jets game. “Definitely pretty sore for not playing for a few weeks. I feel really good. I was on more of a limited snap count this past week.

“I feel like I am getting really close to 100 percent. It feels great to be back out there, being with the guys. Looking forward to getting better every week. Just continue to rehab and stay on top of it so nothing else happens.”

Linebacker Tyler Matakevich continues to work his way back into action after he returned to practice this week for the first time since he was placed on the Reserve/Injured List.

“It felt so good,” said Matakevich of practicing again. “I was definitely losing it a little bit towards the end, missing being out there and all the guys having fun, making plays. It just feels great.

“We’re getting there. Just taking it day-by-day, just trying to get back to where we were. And that’s all you can do in this situation. It really did just feel great being back out there, having a helmet on and stuff.”

Matakevich, who has been a special teams ace his entire career, said he would love to get back into the mix, especially with the way the special teams units have been thriving as of late.

“You definitely get that itch,” said Matakevich. “You feel like, I’ve got to get back out there. Just watching those guys fly around and just making plays, it doesn’t do anything but put a smile on my face because that’s what I love doing.

“I just want to be out there with them. That’s the only thing that’s missing.”

Receiver Roman Wilson continues to be hampered by his hamstring injury as well. Wilson didn’t play the first five weeks of the season while coming back from an ankle injury suffered in camp.

He returned for the Week 6 game against the Las Vegas Raiders, seeing limited action with no targets.

Wilson injured his hamstring in practice leading into the Week 7 Jets game and was inactive.

His status for this Monday is yet to be determined, but he hasn’t practiced the last two days.

“He missed some practice time because of the hammy,” said Coach Mike Tomlin. “And as we’ve talked repeatedly, Roman needs to work for me to really consider him. His participation got compromised some last week. And so really, once it got compromised, I moved on.”

The Steelers added some depth at receiver on Friday, using their open spot on the practice squad to sign Andy Isabella. Isabella is in his sixth NFL season after being drafted by the Arizona Cardinals in the second round of the 2019 NFL Draft, the 62nd overall selection. Isabella has spent time with the Cardinals, Baltimore Ravens and Buffalo Bills, appearing in 41 games, including three starts. He has 33 receptions for 447 yards and three touchdowns, including an 88-yard touchdown his rookie season.

The full injury report is below.