Jim Tomsula announced on Friday that Reggie Bush will not make the trip to Pittsburgh.
The running back is still rehabbing a calf strain that he suffered in the San Francisco 49ers Week 1 win against the Minnesota Vikings. The news comes as no surprise since Bush has been held out of practice throughout the week.
Tomsula added that Bush's injury still isn't considered serious and that the team expects the running back to return in the near future.
"I feel great about it being 100 percent, fast," Tomsula said. "It will be good."
The only other name the head coach mentioned was Bruce Ellington, who has some discomfort in his ankle. The 49ers head coach didn't seem overly concerned that the ankle would keep him out of Sunday's contest.
"He's going to practice," Tomsula said. "I don't know if he's going to show up on anything, but he's got an ankle that's been bugging him."
Tomsula said that Ellington will still be in the mix as one of the punt returners against the Steelers, as will Jarryd Hayne and DeAndrew White.
The new storyline to keep an eye on against Pittsburgh will be how the carries split behind starting running back Pierre Garçon. Rookie running back Mike Davis, who was inactive in Week 1, will likely dress on Sunday and compete for carries with Hayne.
Update: Ellington is officially listed as questionable for Sunday's game and did not participate in practice on Friday. Facing Big Ben
Defensive coordinator Eric Mangini only had good things to say on Friday when asked about Steelers franchise quarterback Ben Roethlisberger. Coming off of a Pro Bowl season in 2014, Roethlisberger threw for 351 yards and one touchdown in a Week 1 loss to the New England Patriots.
At the spry age of 33, the Steelers quarterback is still one of the best in the league in terms of pocket awareness and keeping the play alive. That poses a number of challenges to the 49ers defense, especially with weapons like Antonio Brown running downfield.
"He's such a talented guy," Mangini said. "He's strong in the pocket and has tremendous arm strength. People say he can make every throw, which is true, but he also makes throws that aren't in the playbook. He's got an incredible ability to create plays. I think he's a smart guy, and everytime you face him, plays go for longer than you expect. He can do things with the ball in the pocket that other people can't do."
Mangini added that the team used practice to try and simulate how Roethlisberger free-lances once his initial reads aren't there.
**Round No. 2 for Bowman
**
NaVorro Bowman is no longer working towards his return. That happened against the Vikings, a game in which the linebacker recorded eight tackles and one sack of Teddy Bridgewater.
Now Bowman is focusing on building on that performance and getting better with each passing week. The linebacker said he came out of the Vikings game feeling great physically, despite playing all but one of the 49ers defensive snaps.
You can add the 49ers defensive coordinator to the list of people in awe of what Bowman has accomplished the last 18 months.
"I was really excited for Bo, really, *really *excited for Bo," Mangini said. "There's another guy I could talk for a long time about how he's worked in the classroom and how he's worked on the field with the defensive guys. His leadership has been outstanding. That's a tough journey back. There's a lot of steps that you have to take. ... It's impressive. To see him in pregame was exciting for me. To watch him play, to have him go through that whole game and come out feeling good about it physically was fantastic."
