The locker room at Acrisure Stadium is a quiet place right now. Usually, this time in January, you'd expect the hum of heaters and the frantic taping of ankles, but the Pittsburgh Steelers are officially in "exit interview" mode. It's a weird vibe. Honestly, the most frustrating part of the Pittsburgh Steelers injuries today isn't who is currently hurt—it's how healthy everyone finally got just in time to watch the rest of the playoffs from their couches.
Steelers fans are still stinging from that 30-6 thumping by the Houston Texans last Monday. It was brutal. But if you look at the medical report, you’ll see a team that was actually, miraculously, mostly whole at the end. That’s the irony of the NFL. You spend all season praying for T.J. Watt to get his lungs back and Aaron Rodgers to fix his wrist, and by the time they do, the clock runs out.
The Reality of Pittsburgh Steelers Injuries Today
Right now, the "active" injury list is basically a ghost town because the season is over. But we have to look at the wreckage left behind. The biggest names on the final report—Aaron Rodgers, T.J. Watt, and Jaylen Warren—all suited up for that Wild Card game. They weren't just decoys either. Watt had been dealing with a scary punctured lung that kept him out for three weeks in December. He came back for the regular-season finale against Baltimore and played the full game against Houston.
He said he felt great. "Hats off to the training staff," he told reporters. But you have to wonder if that month-long layoff slowed the pass rush just enough to let C.J. Stroud pick the secondary apart.
✨ Don't miss: Why Your 1 Arm Pull Up Progression Isn't Working (And How to Fix It)
Then there’s Aaron Rodgers. At 42, every hit feels like a three-car pileup. He’s been nursing a left wrist injury for months. He played through it with a cast, then without one, and honestly, the "full participation" tags he was getting toward the end of the year might have been a bit of gamesmanship. He looked human against the Texans. Today, his injury status is less about a wrist and more about "old age and soul-searching."
Who is Still in the Training Room?
While the stars are healthy enough to travel, the Injured Reserve (IR) list is still crowded with guys who could have changed the season's trajectory. If you're looking for the real Pittsburgh Steelers injuries today, you have to look at the guys who weren't even allowed on the sideline last week.
- Darnell Washington (TE): A fractured left forearm on New Year's Eve ended his year. Losing a 6'7" blocking mountain right before a playoff game against a physical Texans front was a quiet disaster.
- Broderick Jones (OT): A neck injury in late November put him on IR. The offensive line shuffled for weeks trying to find a rhythm without their cornerstone tackle.
- DeShon Elliott (S): He’s been out since October with a hyperextended knee. The team traded for Kyle Dugger to fill the gap, but the chemistry in the deep third never quite peaked.
- Isaiahh Loudermilk (DT): He was the only "questionable" guy going into the Houston game with an ankle issue. He stayed on the Reserve/Injured list and didn't dress.
It's a long list. You've got Dean Lowry, Max Scharping, and even Skylar Thompson taking up space on that IR sheet.
🔗 Read more: El Salvador partido de hoy: Why La Selecta is at a Critical Turning Point
The Mystery of the Inactives
Something weird happened on Monday. It wasn't an "injury" in the medical sense, but it felt like a wound to the roster. Mike Tomlin—who just shocked the world by resigning—left rookie Kaleb Johnson and second-year man Roman Wilson on the inactive list.
Both were healthy. Neither played.
Wilson was supposed to be the WR2 of the future. Instead, he ended the season as the sixth guy on the depth chart. Kaleb Johnson had a "special teams blunder" earlier in the year and basically never saw the light of day again. For a team that struggled to score more than six points in a playoff game, having healthy talent in street clothes is a tough pill to swallow.
💡 You might also like: Meaning of Grand Slam: Why We Use It for Tennis, Baseball, and Breakfast
What This Means for 2026
The focus in Pittsburgh has shifted. It’s no longer about whether Jonnu Smith’s glute is 100% (he’s fine, by the way) or if Ben Skowronek’s hand is healed. It's about the "injury" to the coaching staff. With Tomlin gone, the medical staff and the front office are looking at a total rebuild of the team's physical identity.
The "clean" injury report we saw last week was a mirage. It showed a team that was physically present but mentally and structurally exhausted. Rodgers is currently deciding if he wants to play at 42 for a new coach. T.J. Watt is entering another offseason where he has to rehab a major internal injury (that lung wasn't a joke).
If you’re tracking the Pittsburgh Steelers injuries today, the "Actionable Insight" isn't to check the waiver wire. It’s to watch the surgery schedules. Guys like Isaac Seumalo, who played through a triceps issue, might finally go under the knife now that there's no game next Sunday.
The training staff is going to be busy. But for the fans, the biggest injury is the one to the win-loss column. The Steelers ended the year 10-7, which is a "winning record" by definition, but it feels like a broken bone that didn't set right.
Next Steps for the Offseason:
- Watch for "cleanup" surgery announcements over the next 48 hours for veterans like Cam Heyward and Seumalo.
- Keep an eye on Aaron Rodgers’ retirement timeline; his physical state will dictate the Steelers' draft strategy in April.
- Monitor the IR-to-Active transitions for Broderick Jones and Darnell Washington as they begin their 2026 prep.