Steelers' Cam Heyward out of concussion protocol

Great news came out of Pittsburgh on Thursday morning with Steelers defensive tackle Cameron Heyward being officially cleared for the team’s divisional matchup against the Cincinnati Bengals this Saturday.

Steelers Senior Director of Communications Burt Lauten announced Thursday that Heyward is no longer in the concussion protocol and has been cleared by an independent neurological consultant.

Heyward suffered a concussion in the Steelers’ Week 15 matchup against the Indianapolis Colts last Saturday, but played the entirety of the contest, with symptoms likely arising following the game. He was a full participant at the Steelers’ practice on Wednesday after being a limited participant on Tuesday.

Heyward also missed time this season after suffering a groin injury, which landed him on the injured reserve. He’s made seven-game appearances for the Steelers this season in the midst of his 13th NFL season (all with Pittsburgh). His year has been a little quiet statistically recording just 30 tackles, 6.0 tackles for loss, and 2.0 sacks, but there’s no denying his impact as the anchor of the Steelers’ defensive line.

The three-time First-Team All-Pro and six-time Pro Bowler has become a staple of Pittsburgh’s defense, with the team potentially needing him in the lineup now more than ever.

The Steelers have lost their last three games, dropping their record to 7-7 on the season. They sit last in the AFC North standings, but their playoff hopes aren’t gone just yet, sitting one game behind the Bengals in the standings.

The stakes are surely high for Saturday’s game, as Heyward and the Steelers will host Cincinnati at 4:30 p.m. ET.

Mike Tomlin announces Mason Rudolph as starter for Week 16 vs. Bengals

Mike Tomlin recently announced that Mason Rudolph will start for the Steelers against the Bengals. In doing so, he also noted that Pittsburgh needed more out of the offense.

“As I stand here today, Mason Rudolph is the guy with the ball,” Tomlin said.

“It’s our intention as we sit here today to give Mason Rudolph an opportunity to start. He’s a veteran guy, he’s a backup but he’s a veteran guy. We have a great deal of comfort with him. Why are we making the change? We don’t like what we’re looking at and the consistency of it. We’re not scoring enough points. Particularly as you move into December football. You’ve got to score more than 14, 16 points this time of year. The engineering of a victory isn’t going to be fluid without doing those things.”

On’s Dan Morrison contributed to this report.