Hines Ward tried to take a philosophical approach to the fact he will miss the Steelers game tomorrow with the Arizona Cardinals due to a sprained knee, but there was no hiding his disappointment.

Ward, who injured the knee this past Sunday against San Francisco, did not practice yesterday and was ruled out for the game by coach Mike Tomlin.

"You've got to be smart," said Ward, who has led the team in receiving the past eight seasons. "With the guys that we've got, there's no need for me to try and rush back. I've got confidence in the guys that are playing. I've got to look at the big picture. I don't want to have an on-going knee injury all year. This game means a lot but still you have to look at the big picture."

It will be only the fourth game Ward, the Steelers all-time leader in receptions with 657, has missed in his 10-year career. He missed his first game in 2005 after having played in 116 consecutive contests and having started 83 in a row. He also missed two games last December.

Nate Washington will likely replace Ward at flanker with Cedrick Wilson becoming the slot receiver.

Tight end Matt Speath, who did not play last week, did not practice and was listed as doubtful by Tomlin with a quadriceps injury. Speath said he did not expect to play.

"I'm just going to try and get it better for next week. It's a lot better but we want to keep it that way instead of having it go back," said Speath, who caught a touchdown pass in both of the first two games.

Also listed as doubtful was backup cornerback Ricardo Colclough, who said he did not expect to play.

Backup tackle Trai Essex returned to practice yesterday after being held out Thursday.