5 Players Coming off Injury Who Will Help the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2012

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The injury to Ben Roethlisberger finally caught up to the Pittsburgh Steelers in their playoff loss to the Denver Broncos this season.

I did not include Ben or Maurkice Pouncey on this list because I think it’s pretty obvious that having our starting center and quarterback healthy will help the team next year.

Here are five players coming off injuries in 2011 who will help the Steelers get back to the Superbowl in 2012.

Cortez Allen/Curtis Brown

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Even though both Cortez Allen and Curtis Brown were rookies, they became an important part of the special teams.

Cortez Allen was even being given a chance to play defense which the Steelers do not usually do with young guys.

The Steelers secondary may have gotten torched by the Broncos, but they were No. 1 against the pass this season. Allen and Brown should be playing more of a role on that defense.

Willie Colon

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I know I said that I would not mention Maurkice Pouncey, but the team needs the entire offensive line to stay healthy and protect Ben Roethlisberger.

Willie Colon has missed the last two seasons due to injury and the Steelers need him to start at RT next year.

If Max Starks can come back from the injury he suffered against the Broncos, the Steelers could have great depth at the tackle position.

Every Outside Linebacker

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James Harrison, LaMarr Woodley, Jason Worilds and Chris Carter all missed time to injury in 2011 which really affected the Steelers pass rush.

James Harrison had an up and down year and LaMarr Woodley was on a huge run before he got hurt against the Patriots.

Chris Carter and Jason Worilds flashed some ability at times this season; however, the team needs Harrison and Woodley to terrorize quarterbacks in 2012.

Emmanuel Sanders

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Antonio Brown and Mike Wallace get a lot of attention in the Steelers offense which makes people forget about Emmanuel Sanders.

Sanders never seemed to get into the offense in 2011 and missed five games due to foot and knee problems.

If Sanders can stay healthy it would give the team one of the most potent offenses in the NFL especially when you throw in Heath Miller and a running game that should be better next year.

Running Backs

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I am actually really excited to see what the Steelers running game will look like in 2012 with all these running backs healthy.

Baron Batch looked great in camp before getting hurt and even Jonathan Dwyer started to look like he developed in the season.

Everyone is down on Rashard Mendenhall right now, but I think he can get healthy and do nothing but add to this running game.

The Steelers may finally get back to running the football in 2012 with a new offensive coordinator and I definitely think they have the players to help out Ben Roethlisberger.