Steelers WR Brown's ankle injury may be more severe than first believed (read more)
According to Pro Football Talk, “a source with knowledge of the situation” has said that Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Antonio Brown’s ankle injury is more severe than initially believed.
Head coach Mike Tomlin initially described the injury as a “mild high ankle sprain”, which he suffered early in the Steelers’ victory over the New York Giants last week. PFT reported after the game that it was not a high ankle sprain and was not regarded as severe.
That report, the site now acknowledges, was clearly wrong, and that the injury is worse than originally reported.
Brown, in his third pro season, was the recipient of a lucrative new contract this past offseason worth $42.5 million over five years after becoming the first player in league history to top 1000 yards in both receiving and returns and emerging as a starting receiver.
The Steelers entered the offseason so confident in their depth at the top of the position that they were comfortable entering the season with just four wide receivers—the others being Mike Wallace, Emmanuel Sanders, and Jerricho Cotchery.
However, if Brown is going to be out for an extended period of time, which seems likely according to this report, then the team will have no choice but to activate a wide receiver from the practice squad.
Sanders earlier in the week said that he believed David Gilreath would be promoted later in the week to the active roster; that appears to be a sure thing at this point. After the Steelers face the Kansas City Chiefs on Monday night, they have three straight division games, including the Baltimore Ravens twice.
