Dec 8, 2015 3 min read

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Not unexpectedly, Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin made an official change in his team’s depth chart at both kick and punt returner, bumping butter-fingered Jacoby Jones out of those jobs.

But, Jones was not released as expected. At least not on Tuesday.

Some might think that is the end of it, but Jones could still be released at some point moving forward. Just because he wasn’t released already doesn’t mean it won’t happen. After all, the Steelers made the move to sign Jones on a Friday, releasing Dri Archer.

You’ll also recall that there were plenty of fans who couldn’t wait for Archer’s release. But his play doesn’t look all that bad compared to what Jones has done.

The bottom line right now for the Steelers is that they need their best guys out there with four games remaining. And Antonio Brown is the best guy on this team – if not the league – returning punts.

Markus Wheaton will be the kick returner once again. He did a credible job of that last season, averaging 24.7 yards per return – slightly less than the 25.3 yards per return Archer was averaging this season before his release.

• Tomlin said tight end Heath Miller has a chance to play this week after sitting out last week with a rib injury, while corner William Gay is officially in the league’s concussion protocol.

Tight end Matt Spaeth (knee) and linebacker Sean Spence (hamstring) are a questionable to play against the Bengals dependent upon their ability to practice this week.

Getting Miller back would be huge. He had 10 catches for 105 yards in the first meeting with the Bengals, as Cincinnati doubled Martavis Bryant and Antonio Brown on the outside, leaving the middle of the field wide open.

• Tomlin said he will continue with a cornerback rotation similar to what was used against Indianapolis – providing Gay is healthy – with Antwon Blake, Ross Cockrell and Brandon Boykin sharing time in the nickel.

Tomlin felt Blake benefited from not playing every down while also covering kicks because he was more rested. The same goes for Cockrell, though he was just playing in the nickel.

And adding Boykin to the mix creates some competition.

Fans will point to Boykin’s diving interception and say he had a great game. But he takes some chances and doesn’t always stay on his feet, something that the Steelers feel is important.

That said, Cockrell got 43 defensive snaps, Boykin 40 and Blake 32 against the Colts.

• The Steelers have risen to No. 1 in the AFC in total offense and are averaging 35.8 points per game in their past four.

More impressive is the fact that DeAngelo Williams and Le’Veon Bell are the top rushing duo in the league with Williams at 697 yards and Bell at 556 – and Bell hasn’t played in four weeks and missed the first two games of the season.

This is a balanced and deep football team offensively. And Ben Roethlisberger is playing some of the best football of his career.

• The Steelers are 13-3 at Paul Brown Stadium since it opened.