ALTOONA, Pa. -- Steelers kicker Chris Boswell took his first steps toward returning to the field by participating in Thursday's practice at the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex.
Boswell left Sunday's game against the Browns with a concussion after getting hit in the helmet on a fake field goal attempt. As a result, Boswell entered concussion protocol and Thursday his limited participation is the first to be checked off on the list to return to play.
The participation in practice isn't a tell-tale sign Boswell will play Sunday, but with the game being on Monday night, the extra day between games is a positive sign.
The exit of Boswell proved how valuable the kicker position is in the game of football as the Steelers elected to go for two rather than have punter Percy Harvin kick field goals or extra points against Cleveland. The Steelers signed veteran kicker Josh Lambo earlier this week to the practice squad as a backup plan should Boswell be unable to go against the Bears.
Boswell was one of four Steelers who were limited participants Thursday afternoon with tight end Eric Ebron being the lone player who did not practice.
PITTSBURGH STEELERS
Ebron injured his hamstring last Thursday and has not practice or played since. As of now, it doesn't look as though he'll be on the field against Chicago and without him in the lineup, the Steelers' offense didn't miss a beat as Zach Gentry stepped into Ebron's role admirably.
Joining Ebron and Boswell were Ben Roethlisberger, B.J. Finney and Cam Heyward. All three should be expected to play on Monday night. Roethlisberger and being on the injury report go together like peanut butter and jelly, but there's nothing new to report in regards to his hip and pectoral injuries.
Neither Finney nor Heyward's injuries appear to be of much concern. It'll take a lot more than an ankle tweak to keep Heyward of the field though if Finney isn't careful, his back injury could quickly turn into something worse down the line.
What once seemed like a bleak injury outlook has slowly developed into a nearly healthy team in just a few weeks which is going to be largely important as the Steelers are beyond their bye week.
