After listing him as questionable going into the weekend, the Steelers have ruled out James Conner for Monday night’s matchup with the Bengals in Cincinnati. Conner missed practice Thursday and was limited Friday and Saturday with a quadriceps injury, so Benny Snell, Jaylen Samuels and Anthony McFarland will man the backfield.
The Steelers also are bringing in reinforcements at a couple thin positions, activating offensive lineman Danny Isidora and elevating inside linebacker Tegray Scales from the practice squad.
Isidora’s roster spot had been exempt since signing with the Steelers off the Chiefs practice squad Tuesday, but in order to make room for him on the 53-man roster, the team released tight end Kevin Rader. Rader, who played at Pine-Richland High School and Youngstown State, had been on the active roster since Zach Gentry was hurt a month ago at Jacksonville but Rader did not dress for a game.
Expect Rader to come back to the practice squad. Scales, who played three special teams snaps last Sunday night, has been promoted from the practice squad for the second week in a row, with the Steelers dealing with injuries at inside linebacker and starter Vince Williams on the reserve/COVID-19 list. Williams, who also was out against Buffalo, is likely to return for Week 16 against Indianapolis.
Isidora is one of eight healthy offensive linemen now that starting left guard Matt Feiler is on injured reserve and backup guard Kevin Dotson is out with a shoulder injury. He figures to be one of three reserve linemen along with Derwin Gray and Jerald Hawkins while J.C. Hassenauer starts in place of Feiler.
On the Bengals’ side, they elevated quarterback Kevin Hogan from the practice squad, as expected. Hogan will back up starter Ryan Finley with Brandon Allen sidelined by a knee injury. The Bengals also placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list practice squad cornerback Brian Allen, a fifth-round Steelers draft pick in 2017 who was waived by the team before last season.
Brian Batko: bbatko@post-gazette.com and Twitter @BrianBatko.
First Published: December 21, 2020, 9:20 p.m.
