The story of the Pittsburgh Steelers defense this season has been injuries. Even before the season started, Pittsburgh lost one defensive starter and the trend has continued through two games. This week the news is just as bad as the Steelers have ruled out three starters on defense against the New England Patriots.
Starting cornerback Joey Porter Jr. will miss his second straight game with a hamstring injury. The absence of Porter means a heavier workload for Branin Echols and veteran Jalen Ramsey will be lined up exclusively outside on defense.
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Pittsburgh will also be missing starting safety DeShon Elliott who is missing his second-straight game as well. Veteran Chuck Clark will start alongside Juan Thornhill and with Ramsey outside at cornerback this week, Clark should see plenty of reps.
Finally, edge defender Alex Highsmith is out as well. It was initially believed Highsmith had a high ankle sprain, but head coach Mike Tomlin clarified this wasn’t the case. Nevertheless, he’s not playing which puts Nick Herbig into the starting lineup and rookie Jack Sawyer as the primary reserve for Herbig and T.J. Watt.
This article originally appeared on Steelers Wire: Steelers vs Patriots: Joey Porter Jr., Alex Higsmith and DeShone Elliott out