After missing nearly two full weeks of practice Hines Ward is returning, today, and if all goes well, he’ll see playing time on Sunday against the Seahawks. His knee reportedly is healing and it is surrounded by less fluid, little enough that he might be able to make hard enough cuts on the field to run crisp routes.

If the wide receiver isn’t okay to play Sunday, he’ll be replaced by Nate Washington (again). But apparently he’s in control.

“All the coaches say, ‘Hey, it’s up to you,’ ” Ward said.

The Steelers are coming off an upset loss against Arizona last week, and Mike Tomlin’s team could use a bounce-back victory this weekend. No doubt Ward would make a difference, though the Steelers are clearly a run-first team. Their greatest weakness is when they can’t generate yardage on the ground. That’s what happened last week, and it kept the ball in Ben Roethlisberger’s hands and forced him to make decisions. Though “Big” Ben is a good quarterback, he tends to make mistakes when he’s forced in a corner and required to pass the football around. Last week that meant completing only 53% of his passes and throwing 2 interceptions.

So, in the sense that Hines Ward allows Roethlisberger to throw the ball more effectively and thus make the opposing defense respect the pass to open the ground game, Ward’s return can be considered almost paramount. He’s the most fearless receiver on the team — and perhaps the league — and his tendency to run routes across the field and through traffic make him an invaluable asset.

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