Wide receiver Antonio Brown put on his jersey, sans shoulder pads, and his helmet for a pregame workout as Steelers trainer John Norwig watched. Although ESPN’s Suzy Kolber reported Brown was moving “gingerly,” Norwig and the Steelers must have seen enough to feel confident Brown can play.
He is active.
Brown, who injured a toe in last week’s game against the Packers, missed practice Friday and Saturday.
The Steelers, though, did keep all their wide receivers active as insurance.
Pittsburgh will play without free safety Mike Mitchell, who was doubtful with an ankle injury.
The Steelers’ other inactives are quarterback Joshua Dobbs, tight end Vance McDonald (ankle), offensive tackle Matt Feiler, nose tackle Dan McCullers, linebacker James Harrison and cornerback Joe Haden (fibula).
The Bengals already had ruled out starting outside linebacker Nick Vigil (ankle) and key backup Vincent Rey (hamstring). Vigil leads Cincinnati with 79 tackles and Rey ranks fourth with 56.
Cincinnati made wide receiver John Ross, the No. 9 overall choice, a healthy scratch as he has been for the past three weeks. Ross has played in three of 12 games with no catches and one carry for 12 yards.
Cincinnati’s other inactives are cornerback KeiVarae Russell, safety Shawn Williams (hamstring), offensive lineman Alex Redmond and offensive lineman Christian Westerman.
