Clark Stays in Denver with Spleen Injury; DE Smith Doubtful

Steelers safety did not come back to Pittsburgh with the team after their 31-28 loss Sunday night due to a spleen injury. Head coach Mike Tomlin said today at his weekly press conference that Clark has an inflamed spleen. He was kept in Denver for observation. Tomlin said that Clark was back in Pittsburgh today. “All indications are that Ryan is going to be okay,” said head coach Mike Tomlin. “We erred on the side of caution in terms of putting him on the airplane after the football game. His spirits are good. We are going to evaluate him the early part of this week and we will know more information about his availability later in the week. There is a good chance that he could play provided he passes the battery of tests we are going to put him through later in the week.”

The news on DE Aaron Smith is not as good, as it looks like he will be sitting Sunday when the Steelers travel to take on the Bengals. He suffered a sprained knee in the first defensive series, and missed the rest of the game. Tomlin said he was doubtful for the game against the Bengals. “Aaron is as good a player as we have on this football team,” said Tomlin. “You know what you are going to get from him. The level of his play is extremely consistent and consistently high. If he doesn’t play that will be a blow to us, but not one that we are going to make excuses about.”