Steelers Rule Out 10 Players vs Buccaneers

The Pittsburgh Steelers will be missing a handful of players against the Buccaneers.

PITTSBURGH -- The Pittsburgh Steelers begin their preseason campaign down south, facing the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in their first exhibition game of 2023. While head coach Mike Tomlin said all healthy players will play to some degree, a handful of Steelers will not see action in Tampa. 

Here's who will not play for the Steelers, according to Steelers Now's Alan Saunders.

• Damontae Kazee (ankle)
• Keanu Neal (unknown)
• John Lovett (unknown)
• Joey Porter Jr. (ankle)
• Tre Norwood (leg)
• T.J. Watt 
• Cam Heyward
• Larry Ogunjobi
• Patrick Peterson
• Minkah Fitzpatrick

The #Steelers I don't see dressed:

OLB T.J. Watt, DL Cam Heyward & Larry Ogunjobi, CB Joey Porter Jr., FS Tre Norwood, S Damontae Kazee, SS Keanu Neal, RB John Lovett.

— Alan Saunders (@ASaunders_PGH) August 11, 2023

Kazee slowly returned to practice during the third week of training camp after suffering an ankle injury early. He's only participated in seven-on-seven and made it known after the injury initially happened that he would be taking it slow to ensure he's ready for the regular season.

Neal missed the entire third week with an undisclosed injury, and is slowly working his way back onto the field. 

Porter Jr. was in and out of practice throughout the week after suffering an ankle injury at the end of Week 2 of training camp. He was sidelined in the team's final practice after playing the opening portion, which likely led to the team's keeping him out. 

Norwood is also dealing with a leg injury and did not practice during the third week of camp. He was last seen with a sleeve on his leg. 

Lovett hasn't practiced since his first day on campus. After two vicious hits from Elandon Roberts and Mark Robinson during backs-on-backers, he left the field and has not returned. 

Ogunjobi, Heyward, Peterson, Fitzpatrick and Watt are not dealing with injuries and will miss simply to keep them rested and allow younger players to see more time. 

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