Like any team, the Pittsburgh Steelers have felt the weight of attrition that an NFL season brings come Thanksgiving. For their sake, hopefully the Steelers can remain healthy the rest of the way. Otherwise, the team may have to begin making tough decisions on who to bring back and who to leave behind.
NFL rules allow teams to designate-to-return up to eight players each regular season. To be clear, that doesn’t mean the players has to come back to the 53-man roster. If their 21-day window opens and they return to practice, they count against the list. If the player gets injured again or if the team never activates him for whatever reason and he remains on injured reserve, he still counts.