The Pittsburgh Steelers will officially announce later today that have signed wide receiver Plaxico Burress and quarterback Brian Hoyer to the 53 man roster and they will need to make corresponding roster moves to accommodate both of them.
Head coach Mike Tomlin said during his Tuesday press conference that he didn\’t believe that the rib injuries suffered by quarterback Byron Leftwich and wide receiver Jerricho Cotchery in the loss Sunday to the Baltimore Ravens were serious enough to be considered season ending, so it appears that neither will be placed on injured reserve.
Tomlin did not mention linebacker Stevenson Sylvester (hamstring) or running back Baron Batch (foot) in his run down of injured players, so it would appear that neither will need to be placed on injured reserve. That of course is not guaranteed, though, at this moment.
Should all of the above be true, and no players are placed on injured reserve, the two likeliest candidates to be waived would be linebacker Marshall McFadden and wide receiver David Gilreath. Both would easily clear waivers and could be signed back to the practice squad.
If indeed Gilreath is waived, it would be a good sign that wide receiver Antonio Brown might be on track to play Sunday against the Cleveland Browns after missing the last two games with a left high ankle sprain.
