Patriots vs. Steelers Thursday injury report: Ja’Whaun Bentley among New England’s limited in return

After coming out of X-rays to begin the week as a full participant, quarterback Mac Jones was kept out of Thursday’s New England Patriots practice due to an illness.

But the rest of the active roster did take to the fields as preparations for the Pittsburgh Steelers continued. That included starting linebacker and fellow team captain Ja’Whaun Bentley, who returned from a toe issue and was among six limited.

Here’s the second injury report leading up to Sunday’s 1 p.m. ET kickoff at Acrisure Stadium.

DID NOT PARTICIPATE

Patriots

• QB Mac Jones (illness)

Steelers

• LB T.J. Watt (pectoral — placed on IR)

An upset stomach led to the Patriots giving Jones the day off, according to NFL Media’s Tom Pelissero. The sophomore starter was previously dealing with back spasms, and stated “I’m good” when asked Wednesday if he’ll play Sunday. No. 10 completed 21-of-30 passes for 213 yards with one touchdown, one interception and one fumble in the season opener against the Miami Dolphins.

LIMITED PARTICIPATION

Patriots

• RB Pierre Strong Jr. (shoulder)
• OT Trent Brown (ankle)
• LB Ja’Whaun Bentley (toe)
• CB Shaun Wade (ankle)
• S Adrian Phillips (ribs)
• S Joshuah Bledsoe (groin)

Steelers

• C Mason Cole (ankle)
• DT Cameron Heyward (veteran rest)

Bentley saw 72 percent of New England’s defensive snaps in Week 1 while totaling seven tackles and a sack. The 2018 fifth-round draft choice was joined as a partial participant on Thursday by the same group that resided on the initial injury report — aside from Brown. The 6-foot-8 left tackle was added to the limited because of an ankle ailment.

FULL PARTICIPATION

Patriots

• No players listed

Steelers

• RB Najee Harris (foot)
• CB Levi Wallace (ankle)
• LB Rob Spillane (eye)

A pair of Steelers were upgraded from limited to full participation on Thursday. Harris in the offensive backfield would be one of them. The 2021 Pro Bowler handled 12 touches for 26 yards and a touchdown last weekend versus the Cincinnati Bengals before exiting with a foot injury.