Dupree was spotted with an ice pack and wrap on his right hand after exiting Sunday's preseason matchup with the Titans, Dale Lolley of Steelers radio network reports.
Dupree was still on the sideline, suggesting the severity of his injury isn't too great. He's obviously done for the night, though.
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Steelers' Sean Davis: Exits with thigh injury
Rotowire
Aug 26, 2019
Davis exited Sunday's preseason matchup against the Titans with a thigh injury, but he was able to head to the locker room under his own power, Brian Batko of Post-Gazette Sports reports.
Davis' injury didn't look incredibly serious, but it should be enough to knock him out for the rest of the night.
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Steelers' Benny Snell: Taking seat Sunday
Rotowire
Aug 25, 2019
Snell (groin) isn't expected to suit up for Sunday's preseason contest at Tennessee, Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.
Snell suffered a groin injury in the Steelers' second exhibition on Aug. 17 and hasn't practiced in the interim. Despite this fact, Dulac called Snell's health concern "an undisclosed injury that is not expected to be serious." Snell likely is dealing with the former, so the fact that it's minor bodes well for a return to practice in the near future.
After clearing waivers, Hooks (Achilles) was placed on Pittsburgh's injured reserve Friday, per the league's official transactions page.
Hooks was originally waived Thursday after suffering an Achilles injury at Wednesday's practice. The 27-year-old will miss the entire 2019 season, forcing him to wait until 2020 to take another shot at making his NFL debut.
Steelers' Ben Roethlisberger: Will see action Sunday
Rotowire
2D ago
Coach Mike Tomlin confirmed that Roethlisberger will play in Sunday's preseason game against the Titans, Missi Matthews of the Steelers' official site reports.
It's unclear how long Roethlisberger will be out there in what will be his only exhibition action this summer, but we suspect that it won't be long enough for him to merit DFS consideration in the most random of preseason weeks to project.
Johnson said he's day-to-day with an unspecified injury, Chris Adamski of TribLive.com reports.
After dealing with a hip injury early in training camp, Johnson made it back for the second week of the preseason, catching three of five targets for 46 yards and a touchdown while playing deep into the fourth quarter. The rookie third-round pick doesn't appear headed for a significant Week 1 role on offense, but he could get chances throughout the year if Donte Moncrief and/or James Washington disappoint. An absence from Saturday's preseason game against Tennessee wouldn't help Johnson's case.
Hooks is out for the season after suffering an Achilles injury at Wednesday's practice, tTom Pelissero of NFL.com reports.
Hooks signed a reserve/future contract with the Steelers at the end of last season but won't get the chance to play in 2019. The 27-year-old went undrafted out of Ole Miss in 2015 and has yet to make his NFL debut.
Steelers' JuJu Smith-Schuster: Working on downfield skills
Rotowire
3D ago
Smith-Schuster is focused on becoming more of a deep threat outside, Kevin Gorman of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reports. "Being able to catch the deep balls down the field," Smith-Schuster said. "That's what I've focused on a lot, catching the ball over the shoulder and being able to be a threat on the outside."
With Antonio Brown off to Oakland and slot specialists Ryan Switzer and Eli Rogers left behind in Pittsburgh, there's an excellent chance Smith-Schuster takes more of his snaps outside this season. It's less clear if he'll become a viable deep threat, but he's so good at everything else that it shouldn't be a major issue if he struggles to gain separation on go routes. His work after the catch has led to some huge plays through two seasons, including gains of 97, 97, 75, 69 and 67 yards.
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Steelers' Vance McDonald: Stuck in committee
Rotowire
3D ago
Offensive coordinator Randy Fichtner said Wednesday that McDonald won't see a significant increase in playing time compared to a season ago, Dale Lolley of DKPittsburghSports.com reports. "[McDonald] still won't," Fichtner said. "He's never going to play the full game. That's never going to happen."
There was hope McDonald might handle a three-down role after the Steelers lost Jesse James to Detroit this offseason, but Fichtner apparently wants to keep Pittsburgh's top tight end in a timeshare, splitting snaps with Xavier Grimble and/or Zach Gentry. The plan seems to be influenced by McDonald's injury history as well as his reputation as a subpar blocker. McDonald should still be on the field for a majority of Pittsburgh's pass plays, with potential to be targeted on a higher percentage of his routes now that the offense doesn't have Antonio Brown hogging looks. Even so, it can only be taken as bad news for fantasy managers when the man in charge of the offense makes it clear he's committed to a timeshare. While stuck in a similar situation in 2018, McDonald posted a 50-610-4 receiving line across 72 targets and 564 snaps.
