Jason

Worilds

Farrior said Thursday that he would play, but the calf is still an issue. The downgrade explains why the Steelers promoted LB Mortty Ivy from their practice squad Saturday. OLBs James Harrison and Jason Worilds have also been ruled out.

Woodley sat out the final three quarters against the Bengals after tweaking his hammy yet again. “You’ve got to be smart about the hamstring injuries and can’t play the entire game anyway,” he said. The IDP upside here is capped.

Woodley ran prior to last night’s game against the Chiefs, but wasn’t close to suiting up. “He’s run a little bit all of these days but he wasn’t well enough to play. We’ll go through the same process again next week,” said coach Mike Tomlin. Backup Jason Worilds had six tackles and a sack last night.

As is also the case with Emmanuel Sanders (knee, foot), the Steelers will aim for next week’s showdown with the 49ers. Jason Worilds will step in as the starter against a struggling Browns passing game lacking in explosive players.

The 2010 second-rounder added several more hurries in his fourth career start. Worilds continues to get better each week, giving the Steelers reason to believe he can succeed James Harrison in the long run. Credit underrated GM Kevin Colbert, who builds from within as well as any organization in the NFL.

The Steelers are trying to get Woodley ready to play in a rotation with Jason Worilds, but it looks like they are just going to hold him out for a week. They know they don’t need him to thrash the Browns. In three starts this year, Worilds has 11 tackles and one sack.

Worilds showed promise in 2011 spot duty, recording 38 tackles and three sacks across 12 games with seven starts. Although Chris Carter spent much of summer with the first-team defense, the Steelers figure to turn back to Worilds as their No. 3 outside linebacker behind James Harrison and LaMarr Woodley.

Worilds’ wrist issue is proving to be much more severe than originally thought. He remains on the active/PUP list even though he claimed he just had a “cleanup” procedure more than two months ago. Second-year man Chris Carter has been filling in for James Harrison (knee) with the first-stringers.

Yet to practice in pads since the end of the 2011 season, Harrison told reporters that his knee is feeling a lot better this week. He’s on track to be ready for the season opener, though the 34-year-old will likely be on a snap count as he’s eased back in. Worilds will provide valuable depth at a position that has been shallow throughout camp.

It’s the first we’ve heard of any wrist issue for Worilds, who missed four games early last season due to a quad injury. It’s too early to tell if he will start training camp on the PUP list. The 2010 second-round pick projects as the third outside linebacker behind James Harrison and LaMarr Woodley this season.