Steelers' Minkah Fitzpatrick: Optimism for wild-card return

Head coach Mike Tomlin said Tuesday that he has optimism about Fitzpatrick's (knee) chances of playing in Sunday's wild-card game against the Bills, Teresa Varley of the Steelers' official site reports.

Fitzpatrick missed the final three games of the regular season, but the veteran safety is expected to begin the practice week as a limited participant and could be an option for Sunday, depending on how much progress he makes. The possible return of the standout defensive back would at least slightly soften the blow of the absence of star edge rusher T.J. Watt (knee) for the first round of the playoffs.