PITTSBURGH -- Pittsburgh Steelers outside linebacker LaMarr Woodley did not practice Thursday, sitting out drills a day after he took part in them on a limited basis. 

The Steelers are hoping both Woodley and defensive end Brett Keisel play in Cleveland, a week after each missed the team's 37-27 win against the Lions. 

Keisel has yet to practice this week, making Friday a critical day for the 12 th-year veteran. He and safety Shamarko Thomas (ankle) were the only Steelers who didn't practice on Thursday. 

Left guard Ramon Foster (ankle) is on track to play Sunday after practicing fully on Thursday. The same is true of wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders (foot), who has practiced both days this week. 

Also participating fully in practice on Thursday were tight end Heath Miller, center Fernando Velasco (knee) and left tackle Kelvin Beachum(hip). Linebacker Stevenson Sylvester(hamstring) was limited. 

Tight end Matt Spaeth practiced for the first time since suffering a Lisfranc injury in early August. Spaeth has been on the short-term injured reserve list, and the Steelers have three weeks to add the seventh-year veteran to their 53-man roster or put him on injured reserve. 

"Didn't do a lot, but did a little bit of everything," Spaeth said. "It felt good to be back."

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    Steelers wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders left Sunday's game against the Detroit Lions in the second quarter with what appeared to be a foot injury. Sanders had one catch for two yards before the injury occurred.

He has been replaced by rookie wide receiver Markus Wheaton, who has three catches for 38 yards on four targets through an explosive offensive half for Pittsburgh.

The Steelers jumped out to a surprising 14-0 lead over visiting Detroit on the speed of two Antonio Brown touchdown catches from Ben Roethlisberger. Lions WR Calvin Johnson replicated that with two of his own in the second quarter. The Lions took a 24-20 lead on a Joique Bell 2-yard touchdown run at the end of the first half.

BehindTheSteelCurtain.com

             The Steelers are in "hope for the best, prepare for the worst" mode concerning injuries to three starters - left guard Ramon Foster, defensive end Brett Keisel and outside linebacker LaMarr Woodley.

It's not a trio of players they can easily do without. None of them practiced Thursday, cast doubt over their ability to play Sunday vs. the explosive Detroit Lions.

Foster isn't expected to play, according to Tribune-Review reporter Alan Robinson, although Woodley and Keisel will both try to practice Friday in an effort to get on the field.

Guy Whimper will start at left guard for the Steelers in the seemingly likely event Foster can't play. Presumably, Ziggy Hood would play for Keisel, and Jason Worilds would shift from the defensive right side to the left, and Jarvis Jones would take the right side spot.

Jones was benched in favor of Worilds after Week 8, but did notch his first career sack last week against Buffalo.

The absence of Woodley in this game would be painful for the Steelers. He's been basically their only source of pass rush from the outside linebacker position, leading the team with 21 quarterback hurries.

The Steelers host the Lions at 1 p.m. ET Sunday.

BehindTheSteelCurtain.com

    The Steelers are a never-fun three-point underdog at home. On one hand, you look at how their offense handled a good defensive front in Buffalo, and think maybe there's a chance they can get some explosion offensively, and ride a steadily improving defense to a win.

Then, you take the same scenario and apply it to the Lions, and realize that's far more realistic. It's tough betting against the Steelers at home, but that's really the smart money here.

Lions (-3) over STEELERS

Colts (-3) over TITANS

BUCCANEERS (+1) over Falcons

Jets (+1) over BILLS

EAGLES (-4.5) over Redskins

BEARS (-3) over Ravens

Browns (+6) over BENGALS

TEXANS (off) over Raiders

JAGUARS (+8) over Cardinals

Chargers (-1.5) over DOLPHINS

SEAHAWKS (-13) over Vikings

SAINTS (off) over 49ers

GIANTS (-6) over Packers

Chiefs (+8) over BRONCOS

PANTHERS (-1) over Patriots

Hat Tip to BehindTheSteelCurtain.com

           Steelers' head coach Mike Tomlin provided an injury report today during his Tuesday press conference.

From all the players that were injured during the game against the Buffalo Bills, the only player that looks to surely miss the team's next game is Shamarko Thomas.

Thomas' injury is a high-ankle sprain, which occurred during the Bills game after an attempt to tackle wide receiver, Stevie Johnson.

Thomas had seen over 120 snaps on the defensive side of the ball in the four games leading up to Pittsburgh's matchup with Buffalo.

While it appears that the Steelers will have to do without Thomas, there was some positive news on the injury front. Several players were hurt during the game against the Bills, such as Brett Keisel, LaMarr Woodley, Fernando Velascoe and Roman Foster, but all are expected to play against the Detroit Lions after being limited in practice this week.

The rest of the Steelers offensive line also are fighting through injuries, including David DeCastro, Mike Adams, Kelvin Beachum and Marcus Gilbert. Despite the myriad of injures to these four, Tomlin does not expect their preparation for Sunday to be hindered as the week moves forward.

http://www.behindthesteelcurtain.com/2013/11/12/5097266/tomlin-shamarko-thomas-ruled-out-vs-lions-offensive-line-banged-up

               The Comeback Player of the Year award is given annually to the player in the NFL who overcame the most, in the opinion of the voters, to return to prominence in the league.

Perhaps that award will be Steelers linebacker Sean Spence's to win next year. It won't be this year.

The Steelers placed Spence on injured reserve Wednesday, ending his gallant efforts to return to the field this season, one year after a significant knee injury cast doubts over his playing career.

Spence returned to practice in October, only to break his finger (some reports indicate it was his hand), thus affecting his ability to practice and show his full range of ability.

There was optimism among the team, as well as among Steelers fans, that Spence, the team's third round draft pick in 2012, could not only return to the field, but eventually, see action within the defense. Varying reports obtained by Behind The Steel Curtain indicated he was close physically, but the hand injury set him back enough the team had no choice.

Wednesday at 4 p.m. ET was the deadline to make a decision on Spence, who began the year on the PUP list. His placement on injured reserve means he can no longer practice with the team, although he can participate in meetings.

BehindTheSteelCurtain.com | Neal Coolong | @NealCoolong
   

 The good news early this week is Steelers guard David DeCastro was not confirmed to have a significant ankle injury - he underwent an MRI upon the team's return to Pittsburgh after a loss at Oakland in Week 8.

His status for the Steelers' Week 9 game against New England is still up in the air though. Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said DeCastro may be limited in the early part of the week, and true to that, DeCastro missed practice Wednesday. Left guard Ramon Foster was limited with a concussion, but he is expected to play against the Patriots.

Rookie wide receiver Markus Wheaton missed practice as well. He is recovering from a surgical procedure on his pinkie, stemming from a break of that finger suffered in Week 4 against Minnesota. He hasn't played since then.

Cornerback Curtis Brown missed practice for a non-injury related issue.

There weren't any major concerns outside of that - Steve McLendon sat out with an illness and veterans Heath Miller and Ben Roethlisberger were limited for non-injury reasons. Linebacker Lawrence Timmons (hand) and guard Guy Whimper (knee) both practiced fully.

The Steelers head to Foxborough, Mass., Sunday in Week 9 to take on the 6-2 Patriots.

BehindTheSteelCurtain.com