Skip to main content
Join Now

Darnell Washington injury update: Mike Tomlin offers bleak outlook for Steelers TE

Meby: Nick Geddes12/30/25NickGeddesNews

Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin announced Tuesday that tight end Darnell Washington underwent surgery on his broken arm. Washington is out for the Sunday Night Football regular season finale against the Baltimore Ravens. The Steelers don’t expect him back even if they make the playoffs.

“Darnell Washington is out,” Tomlin said. “He had surgery on his broken arm this morning, and so he won’t be available to us.”

Washington, the third-year pro out of Georgia, sustained the injury in the first quarter of this past Sunday’s defeat to the Cleveland Browns. He exited the game as Pittsburgh’s leading receiver at that point with two catches for 15 yards.

Without Washington, the Steelers struggled on offense. They failed to get into the end zone over the course of four quarters, and quarterback Aaron Rodgers completed 21-of-39 passes for just 168 yards.

“Darnell is a big part of what we do,” Rodgers said after the game.

Steelers lose key offensive piece in Darnell Washington

Washington has been an important piece of the Steelers’ offense this season. He has 29 receptions for 349 yards and a touchdown but is also a force in the run game. Pittsburgh, as a result of being down Washington, had to alter its short-yardage decision-making.

“We get challenged with the attrition component all the time,” Tomlin said, via Brooke Pryor of ESPN. “We make no excuses regarding that. We got capable men. We adapt, adjust, and we keep moving.”

The Steelers have both everything to lose and everything to gain in Week 18. They host the Baltimore Ravens, a game in which the winner will clinch the AFC North title and advance to the postseason. The loser will begin its offseason the following day.

Pittsburgh last won the division in 2020. They’ll need to win it Sunday to have any shot at hoisting the Lombardi Trophy in February.