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The Pittsburgh Steelers star wide receiver Antonio Brown has continued to show significant progress toward being available for Sunday's divisional matchup against the Jacksonville Jaguars.
However, there was growing concern on Friday after he was sent home by the team due to being sick. According to Aditi Kinkhabwala of ESPN, Brown had gone through the team's walkthrough on Saturday morning.
OK #Steelers fans, breathe easy: Antonio Brown WAS at walk through this morning. According to a couple teammates, he looked fully healthy – and ready for tomorrow's faceoff w/ #Jaguars.
— Aditi Kinkhabwala (@AKinkhabwala) January 13, 2018
This is another telling sign of Brown's overall health heading into Sunday's tilt with him being present for the final process of preparation. The 29-year-old has made significant progress in his recovery from a torn calf that he suffered in Week 15 against the New England Patriots. He was able to participate fully in practice for the first time on Wednesday since the injury occurred.
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Brown's return should provide a considerable boost to the Steelers offense as their primary receiving threat will be back on the field. He is coming off another highly productive season despite missing the last two games where he earned the lone unanimous All-Pro selection after leading the league with 1,533 receiving yards on 101 catches despite missing the final three games of the season.
He finished first in the NFL in receiving yards, 100-yard receiving games (eight), 10-reception games (six), catches per contest (7.2) and catches for at least 20 yards (27). He also finished tied for third in receiving touchdowns (nine), second in receptions for first downs (71), and fifth in catches. What also bodes well is that he put up a strong performance in the Week 5 meeting between the two teams where he had 10 catches for 157 receiving yards.
Brown's production could be vital in helping the Steelers get the upper hand this time around at Heinz Field. It also eases the pressure of both running back Le'Veon Bell and rookie wideout JuJu Smith-Schuster to put up strong outings against the Jaguars. Ultimately, there should be a final determination of the Pro Bowler's availability on Sunday morning.
