Word this week was that Colts defensive end Arden Key will miss multiple weeks with a hamstring injury and the team confirmed it on Saturday.
The Colts have placed Key on injured reserve, so he will have to sit out four games before he will become eligible to return to action. Key was injured in last Sunday’s win over the Commanders in London.
Key had eight tackles, a half-sack and a forced fumble in the first four games of the year.
The Colts also announced that they have elevated wide receiver Nick Westbrook-Ikhine from the practice squad on a temporary basis. He has appeared in two other games this season.
Steelers Clips
Aaron Rodgers is poised to take sole possession of third place on the NFL’s all-time passing touchdown list.
If Rodgers throws a touchdown pass on Sunday against the Colts, it will be the 580th of his NFL career, counting the playoffs. Currently, Rodgers and Peyton Manning are tied for third with 579 career touchdowns.
Manning threw 539 touchdowns in the regular season and 40 in the playoffs. Rodgers has thrown 534 in the regular season and 45 in the playoffs. Manning threw 428 touchdown passes with the Colts and 151 with the Broncos. Rodgers threw 520 with the Packers and 28 with the Jets and has now thrown 31 with the Steelers.
Rodgers, who has said this is his last NFL season, will probably not catch Drew Brees, who is No. 2 all time with 608 touchdown passes. Rodgers will definitely not catch Tom Brady, who is No. 1 all time with 737 touchdown passes.
Last night’s Buccaneers-Cowboys game was preceded by the unexpected news that cornerback Joey Porter Jr. would miss the contest due to a sudden illness. In light of a back injury that prompted him to decline to play for the Steelers until he was traded — and given that the back injury instantly disappeared once he was traded to the Cowboys — some connected the dots from the illness to the lack of a long-term deal.
As noted by Matt Yoder of Awful Announcing, Prime Video analyst Richard Sherman went there during Thursday night’s pregame show.
“I think maybe if they would have gave him a new contract, maybe he would have been a little healthier today,” Sherman said.
But there’s not much for Porter to gain by declining to play. He already got what he wanted from the Steelers — a trade out of Pittsburgh. If he continues to find phony excuses to not play, he won’t help his long-term interests.
At this point, his only play seems to be playing as well as he can in the hopes of getting a long-term deal, the franchise tag, or a ticket to the open market.
That said, it’s clear that the Cowboys are keeping their options open as to the possibility of tagging Porter, the same way they tagged receiver George Pickens after his first year with the team.
“We’re working under an existing contract with an extended contract,” Jones said last Friday on 105.3 The Fan in Dallas. “Think about it. Think about it hard. Let’s get in here, and let’s make each other feel a little better about where we are. Not a little better; in these guys’ case, it’s a monster amount in their lives, a contract at this level.
“But by the same token, there’s two to tango here. There’s the team and I are being comparable with making that kind of commitment. What you’re seeing in both those cases is working through a reasonable way to advance the ball, advance the ball being, ‘Get up, be an outstanding player as well as having an outstanding contract.’ That’s what you’re seeing, and I’m satisfied that we were able to do this with George. A lot of credit goes to everybody involved, particularly [coach] Brian Schottenheimer. Brian was very helpful, and they have a great relationship.
“And so, that’s the way to work through this problem. This thing is not a perfect thing in our agreement, in our overall, if I dare say, labor agreement, and it gives a lot of leverage to both parties. So when you see it work out the way it is with George, you’ve got to say, ‘Look, that’s people working together.’”
The Cowboys haven’t worked out anything with Pickens. Instead, they persuaded him to play under the franchise tag for $27.298 million in 2026, even though the market is now north of $42 million.
Jones’s explanation suggests that the door is wide open to tag Porter, if a long-term deal can’t be negotiated. If Porter’s sudden illness was a ruse, it won’t be the only time he doesn’t play. He’ll keep finding plausible ways to refuse to play, with the goal of pressuring the Cowboys into giving him the contract he didn’t get from the Steelers.
And that he still hasn’t gotten from the Cowboys.
The Colts hope to have wide receiver Keenan Allen back in the lineup when they face the Steelers on Sunday.
Allen was scratched in last weekend’s win over the Commanders in London because of a groin injury and he’s listed as questionable to play this weekend. Allen was limited in practice on Wednesday and Thursday before moving up to full participation to close out the week.
Two other wide receivers also landed on the final injury report. Darius Slayton was added to the report on Friday with a knee issue and is listed as questionable. Slayton has not played for the Colts since signing with them last month. Ashton Dulin has been ruled out with a hamstring injury.
Defensive end Arden Key (hamstring) and tight end Will Mallory (thumb) have been ruled out along with Dulin. Cornerback Charvarius Ward (rest, groin) is listed as questionable.
The Colts practiced without wide receiver Ashton Dulin (hamstring) and defensive end Arden Key (hamstring) on Thursday.
Neither player has practiced this week.
It does not bode well for their availability for Sunday’s game.
Linebacker Jaylon Charles (ribs) also has missed both practice days this week.
Center Tanor Bortolini (ankle) returned to practice with limited work Thursday, and linebacker Akeem Davis-Gaither (knee) was a full participant after not practicing Wednesday.
Wide receiver Keenan Allen (rest/groin) and cornerback Charvarius Ward (rest/groin) were limited a second consecutive day.
Safety DeShon Elliott is back on the practice field for the Steelers.
The Steelers announced on Thursday that they have designated Elliott for return from injured reserve. Elliott was placed on the list on August 30.
Elliott missed most of last season with knee and hamstring injuries. He was able to practice in training camp and play in the preseason, but went on injured reserve during final cuts in order to have more time to return to full strength.
Elliott had 38 tackles, an interception, a sack and a forced fumble in five games last season. He also started 14 games in 2024 and previously played for the Dolphins, Lions and Ravens.
The Steelers will have to activate Elliott in the next 21 days or he will not be eligible to play this season.
Steelers wide receiver Michael Pittman Jr. won’t play against his former team when the Colts come to town on Sunday, and he won’t play for a while after that, either.
Pittsburgh head coach Mike McCarthy said today that Pittman will miss time after re-injuring his foot, and it’s too soon to say whether he will have to go on injured reserve.
“It’s the same foot, so it’s going to be a multiple-week injury,” McCarthy said. “We’re still going through the evaluation of his roster position.”
The Steelers traded for Pittman in March and signed him to a three-year, $59 million contract extension, but so far that hasn’t looked like a great investment. Pittman has just seven catches for 89 yards this season.
A 2020 second-round pick of the Colts out of USC, Pittman had two 1,000-yard receiving seasons in Indianapolis and appeared to have a long and promising career ahead of him, but his production declined over the last couple seasons with the Colts, and now the Steelers’ primary focus will be on getting him healthy.
A profanity-laced exchange between Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers and head coach Mike McCarthy caught most of the attention, but it wasn’t the only time things got animated for the team during last Thursday’s loss to the Browns.
Linebacker T.J. Watt was filmed having a lively conversation with defensive coordinator Patrick Graham over a headset at one point and defensive lineman Cam Heyward was seen doing the same with teammates on the sideline after a Browns touchdown. Heyward said on Wednesday that “there was a lot bothering me in that game” and that team leaders “shouldn’t apologize” for wearing their hearts on their sleeves during games.
“We’ve always had emotion,” Heyward said, via Ray Fittipaldo of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. “I don’t think that’s anything to shy away from. I’ve always been someone who tends to get a little feisty on the sideline. I’m not going to apologize for that. That’s part of the game. We hold ourselves to a high standard. We expect a lot out of our group. When we don’t, we’re pissed off because of it.”
If the “hard conversations” Heyward was talking about result in wins, the outbursts will likely be viewed as part of the process of getting the team on the same page. If not, they’ll be a sign of dysfunction that threw the club off track in McCarthy’s first season on the sideline.
After Thursday night’s loss in Cleveland, Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers wasn’t asked about his viral moment with coach Mike McCarthy, sparked by Rodgers’s obvious frustration with the time it was taking to communicate the play call to the huddle.
On Wednesday, Rodgers was asked several questions about the topic. Here’s the video, as posted by DK Pittsburgh Sports.
As to whether the plays are coming in “a little later than you would like,” Rodgers said, “I’m not gonna touch that one.”
Regarding the interaction with McCarthy, Rodgers said, “Yeah, Mike and I have talked.”
It is ironed out?
“It’s always ironed out,” Rodgers said.
Is this the normal way they communicate?
“Sometimes, yeah,” Rodgers said.
Has Rodgers found it to be effective?
“Yeah, yeah. We’ve had a lot of success together,” Rodgers replied.
It’s an issue that goes beyond the relationship between Rodgers and McCarthy. If Rodgers is behaving in a way that creates the impression that he believes McCarthy is incompetent when it comes to the simple act of quickly and efficiently telling the quarterback the next play, other players will see it. And they may view McCarthy differently.
Indeed, the fact that Rodgers wouldn’t comment on whether the plays are coming in fast enough means that, in his view, they’re not.
That’s why McCarthy, quite frankly, shouldn’t have wanted another year with Rodgers. Most of the rest of the locker room will be back next year. Rodgers won’t.
The impressions of McCarthy that are influenced by the words and actions of Rodgers will linger for as long as McCarthy is the head coach.
The Steelers did not have a couple of defensive backs for Wednesday’s practice as they begin to get ready to face the Colts.
Cornerback Jalen Ramsey (wrist) and cornerback Jamel Dean (ankle) both did not participate.
While defensive tackle Cameron Heyward also didn’t practice, he was given a veteran rest day.
Additionally, running back Rico Dowdle (toe) and receiver Michael Pittman (foot) were both limited.
Dowdle has missed the last two games with his injury.
