Steelers lose two players to injuries
PITTSBURGH (AP) – Pittsburgh Steelers nose tackle Casey Hampton and backup safety Mike Logan are both out for the season with injuries. Hampton, a Pro Bowler, tore a ligament in his right knee in Sunday’s 24-20 win in Dallas. Logan had been nursing a hamstring he injured against the Cleveland Browns on Oct. 10. Both were put on the injured list Wednesday.
Cornerback Chad Scott, also hurt in Sunday’s game, is expected to miss four to six weeks with an injured quadriceps tendon, the Steelers said Wednesday.
“Casey made my job easy,” said linebacker James Farrior, who was named the AFC Defensive player of the week for his effort against Dallas. “He’s a great player who always takes on double-teams and leaves me and Larry (Foote) to float easily to the ball and make the play. But he’s out now and we’ve got some good guys coming in to replace them and I’m sure they’re going to do the job.”
Chris Hoke will replace Hampton in the starting lineup and the team re-signed defensive lineman Kendrick Clancy to take his place on the roster.
“We feel really good about Chris Hoke and the way Kimo (von Oelhoffen) is playing at end right now,” coach Bill Cowher said. Von Oelhoffen recovered and returned a Vinny Testaverde fumble to set up the Steelers’ winning drive on Sunday.
Clancy was the Steelers’ starting nose tackle until Hampton, then a rookie, bumped him four games into the 2001 season. Now Hoke’s backup, Clancy missed most of training camp because of a calf injury and was among the team’s final cuts this season.
“I was healthy when I got released,” Clancy said. “But you can’t think about past things, you’ve got to press on. I knew that sooner or later I was going to get a call, because defensive linemen are going to get hurt.”
“It’s a sad thing that Casey’s season had to end like that, but that’s the way the game is. That’s the game we play,” Clancy said.
Cowher said veteran Willie Williams, who re-signed with the Steelers in the offseason, will replace Logan.
“That’s why Willie was brought here. He gives us some experience and he’s played left corner here when we’ve had some pretty good teams, so I expect him to step in,” Cowher said. “In the meantime we’ll still have Ricardo (Colclough) and Ike (Taylor) be very involved in the substitute package and they have to be ready. … Fortunately we have some depth there.”
Scott will be around to talk them through the next few weeks, too.
“He’s around here and he’s got a lot of experience to help these guys win. It’s just fortunate in this case that we’re going to be able to get Chad back,” Cowher said.
The Steelers signed safety Tyrone Carter, who has played with the Minnesota Vikings and New York Jets, to fill Logan’s roster spot.
“Over the course of 16 weeks, injuries are going to happen and it’s just matter of how teams handle injuries and the guys who step in,” wide receiver Hines Ward said.