Report: Update on severity of Steelers wide receiver Chase Claypool injury

The Pittsburgh Steelers provided an update on the injury status of wide receiver Chase Claypool on Wednesday after he suffered a serious toe injury. Initially the team was concerned that the injury he suffered against the Chicago Bears last week could potentially end his season. Luckily, on Wednesday the team revealed that they do not believe that is the case any longer.

Steelers’ Chase Claypool toe injury

“Some relatively good news for Steelers wide receiver Chase Claypool: His toe injury is not considered season-ending,” explained NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport. “There was some fear of that originally, but he’s now considered week-to-week, source said. May miss some time, but will be back.”

After the Steelers’ game on Monday Night Football against the Bears, head coach Mike Tomlin said Claypool suffered a toe injury which would be evaluated. The evaluation they were waiting for was actually an MRI, and after their examination it appears the injury will not keep Claypool out for extended time.

Claypool had three catches for 30 yards and two carries for 11 yards against Chicago, and his absence will continue to be felt as he recovers.

In some good news for the Steelers, the emergence of rookie tight end Pat Freiermuth on Monday night helps alleviate some of the team’s concerns. With another key weapon out currently in Eric Ebron, Freiermuth’s development has been a big factor in the Steelers’ success.

Freiermuth, a rookie out of Penn State, had a breakout game on Monday in the 29-27 victory over the Chicago Bears. He finished with five catches for 43 yards and two touchdowns, both of which came in the red zone. It was his first two-touchdown game of his young professional career, and fans can likely expect more given his success by the goal line.

Crazy finish against Chicago

The Pittsburgh Steelers were preparing to punt the football back to the Bears with a three-point lead after a sack on third down late in the game, only to have Chicago commit a taunting penalty. Linebacker Cassius Marsh brought down Ben Roethlisberger for the sack, and was flagged for taunting after taking a few steps towards the Pittsburgh bench.

The penalty drew immediate criticism from fans and the Monday Night Football broadcast crew, as it was unclear exactly what Marsh was flagged for. The replay showed that Marsh did not appear to be saying anything, and was looking to the Steelers’ bench and not at the players running onto the field for the punt.

Officials appeared to flag him for his approach to the bench, but the broadcast crew for ESPN was quick to point out that he was still near the center of the field and not anywhere close to the Steelers sideline.

Despite the Bears’ protests, the penalty was called and the Steelers’ drive remained alive. Pittsburgh managed a field goal on the drive to push their lead to six. From there Bears quarterback Justin Fields put together a touchdown drive to wrestle the lead away with less than two minutes in the game.

With enough time left on the clock, Ben Roethlisberger drove the Steelers back into field goal range of their own and won the game, 29-27 over the Bears in an exciting final few minutes.