The Steelers aren’t practicing on Wednesday so that players and coaches can spend Christmas with their families, but they were required to submit a practice report estimating what players would have done at practice.
According to the team, wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders would not have participated because of the knee injury he suffered last Sunday. Sanders, who has 65 catches for 714 yards this season, was deemed questionable for Sunday’s game by coach Mike Tomlin and said on Tuesday that it’s a positive that there are still a few days before they face the Browns.
“I’m not 100 percent comfortable planting on it, things of that sort, because of the soreness, so we’re just going to take it day by day,” Sanders said, via Scott Brown of ESPN.com. “At some point I’ve got to make a decision of how comfortable I am, but the good thing is the game is a long way away.”
The Steelers still have a way into the playoffs, although it will require losses by all the other teams vying for a Wild Card while the Steelers take care of business against Cleveland. If they don’t, Sunday’s game could be the last one that Sanders, an impending free agent, spends as a member of the team.
Linebacker Jason Worilds, defensive end Brett Keisel and linebacker Terence Garvin would also have sat out practice with injuries had the Steelers practiced on Wednesday.