Running back Duce Staley, who didn't play a down this season, was cut by the Steelers Monday.

PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Steelers could be without injured wide receiver Hines Ward, safety Troy Polamalu and two other starters for Thursday night's AFC North game against Cleveland.

Ward and Polamalu sat out the Steelers' 20-3 victory over Tampa Bay on Sunday, when wide receiver Cedrick Wilson (ankle) and safety Ryan Clark (groin) also were hurt. Ward and Polamalu each injured a knee the week before against Baltimore.

With little preparation and recovery time before the Cleveland game, coach Bill Cowher wasn't optimistic Monday the injured players will be ready by Thursday.

"I'm not sure they'll be able to make it on a short week," Cowher said.

Ward, who had arthroscopic knee surgery last week to remove bone fragments from his left knee, had missed only one other game in his nine-season NFL career to injury before Sunday. He didn't play against Jacksonville last season.

Polamalu had a sprained knee, and the team has not said when it expects the All-Pro safety to return.

If Ward and Wilson don't play, the Steelers plan to start second-year receiver Nate Washington, a non-drafted player, and rookie Santonio Holmes at wide receiver. If Polamalu and Clark can't play, Tyrone Carter and rookie Anthony Smith would start at safety.

Because of the injuries, the Steelers made a number of roster moves Monday. They re-signed cornerback Chidi Iwuoma and wide receiver Lee Mays, released running back Duce Staley and placed wide receiver Willie Reid (foot) on the injured reserve list. Iwuoma and Mays were cut earlier this season.

Staley, a three-time 1,000-yard rusher with the Eagles, signed a $14 million, five-year contract in 2004 to become Pittsburgh's starting running back. The deal included a $4 million signing bonus.

But Staley injured a hamstring after averaging 101 yards through seven games in 2004, was replaced in the lineup by former starter Jerome Bettis and never got his job back. He hurt a knee during training camp in 2005 and was beaten out by Willie Parker.

Staley was limited to 38 carries last season and none this season, when he was active for only one game after agreeing to cut his salary from $2.5 million to $1.5 million.

Reid, a third-round draft pick, hurt a foot Oct. 8 against San Diego, the only game he played this season.

With Ward out, Washington led the Steelers (5-7) with three catches for 78 yards against Tampa Bay, including a 36-yard reception that led to a touchdown. Holmes, a first-round draft pick from Ohio State, had one catch for 18 yards.

"They're going to get better the more they play," Cowher said. "I don't like the circumstances, but they're going to be playing a lot more now."

Injuries or not, Cowher isn't very excited about playing two games in five days, something the Steelers haven't done since 1998.

Then, they beat the Jaguars 30-15 on Sunday, Nov. 22 to get to 7-4 and put themselves in prime playoff position in the AFC Central. But they lost at Detroit 19-16 in overtime five days later on Thanksgiving — the Jerome Bettis disputed coin flip game — and didn't win again. At 7-9, it was their first losing record under Cowher.

No wonder Cowher isn't excited about another Thursday game, even one against the losing-record Browns (4-8).

"I'm not a big fan of it at this time of the year," Cowher said. "It's part of the entertainment business we're in. It will be nice over the weekend (to get extra days off), but it's a lot of work between now and Thursday."

Asked if NFL coaches were consulted before the league drew up the late-season Thursday schedule for its own NFL Network, Cowher said:

"Consulted? No, we don't get consulted about schedules. We don't get consulted about rules. We don't get consulted about a lot of things. We get more consoled than we get consulted."