The Pittsburgh Steelers added not only one tight end on Thursday to their roster, but two and thus concerns are growing that the injury suffered Wednesday by tight end Matt Spaeth might be serious.
While the addition of Nathan Overbay, a virtual unknown undrafted free agent, earlier in the day really didn\’t warrant running for the bridge, the claiming of Michael Palmer off waivers from the Seattle Seahawks later in the day just might.
Palmer is experienced, and like Spaeth, he is better known for his blocking more than he is a receiver.
During his Thursday press conference, Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin said Spaeth was back in Pittsburgh having his injury further evaluated. Being as they couldn\’t evaluate it enough at Saint Vincent College, that\’s probably not a good sign.
The loss of Spaeth would be pretty big for the Steelers offense until Heath Miller ultimately returns to full health. Sure, Spaeth wasn\’t going to make the Pro Bowl this year, but he is considered to be one of the top blocking tight ends in the league that could at least be a red-zone threat in addition. Being as the Steelers offense will likely want to use two tight end packages a little more this year in an effort to run the football with authority, losing him would be pretty significant.
Palmer will certainly be a better blocking tight end than Leonard Pope was last year and probably even five times better. To be able to get him off waivers this late in the offseason was a stroke of luck. However, he still is a notch or two below what Spaeth is as a blocker and his late arrival will mean he has to catch up quickly.
Hopefully Spaeth\’s injury will only keep him sidelined for a few weeks and is not of the season-ending variety. We will likely know soon.
