Former Pitt standout Jabaal Sheard expected to play in Super Bowl for New England Patriots despite knee injury

Jabaal Sheard, a former Pitt standout on the defensive line, has reached the Super Bowl as a member of the New England Patriots. Sheard joins fellow Panther running back Dion Lewis, who is also on the team.

Sheard, however, has a knee injury. He was banged up in the Divisional game against the Houston Texans and was limited going into the AFC title game against the Pittsburgh Steelers. Despite being on the injury report, he managed to play in that game and it sounds like he's following a similar path for the Super Bowl.

The defensive end was again limited in practice a few days ago and could be limited this week leading up to the game on Sunday. But even if he is, CBS Sports says he's still expected to play in the big game against the Atlanta Falcons. He played in the AFC Championship game so he would really have to be banged up to not appear in the Super Bowl.

Sheard has been a capable pass rusher for New England this season. His numbers are slightly down from last year when he had eight sacks and four forced fumbles with the Patriots. But this season, he still performed well with 33 tackles and five sacks with four pass breakups.

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