With both the NFL and the NFLPA agreeing to pass the new 8 week injured reserve rule, it presents yet another new look now at the Pittsburgh Steelers final 53 man roster. The cut down to 53 players must be done by Friday evening and rookie right guard David DeCastro must now be on that final roster so that he can be moved to the injured reserve list after 4 p.m. EST on Tuesday.
Now that we know that DeCastro will certainly be on the final 53 after the Friday cuts, it looks more and more likely that quarterback Charlie Batch could be released on Friday. With that said, it could be a quick turnaround for him on the roster and the Steelers very well might sign him back when they move DeCastro to the injured reserve list.
Keep in mind that the Steelers need to have 7 players on their inactive list every game. Assuming both James Harrison and Jason Worilds will both dress for the opener (far from guaranteed), the first inactive list would likely include one offensive lineman (Mike Adams or Trai Essex), one nose tackle (Alameda Ta\’amu or Casey Hampton), Rashard Mendenhall, Stevenson Sylvester, Ryan Clark, Batch and one yet to be determined.
If both Harrison and Worilds are not going to be ready by the opener, then both would be on the inactive list and thus Batch wouldn\’t be resigned. That would likely open up the door for Adrian Robinson or a fifth wide receiver to make the 53 man roster.
As you can see, Harrison and Worilds now ultimately might decide whether or not Batch is turned around or not and it will be interesting to see if Batch gets a lot of playing time tonight like head coach Mike Tomlin suggested he would earlier in the week.
