Despite being healthy and active Sunday night for the first time since he signed with the Pittsburgh Steelers, veteran wide receiver Lance Moore only played one snap in the win over the Carolina Panthers. During his Tuesday press conference, head coach Mike Tomlin was asked if second-year wide receiver Justin Brown has moved ahead of the longtime member of the New Orleans Saints on the depth chart.
“No, like I said last week, and it’s the reality of this business, when you get hurt, as a football team you adjust and you move forward,” said Tomlin of Moore. “And as a guy regains his health, it’s his responsibility to make himself useful and get on a moving train, if you will.
“I like the approach that he’s taking to that. We’ll continue to work at getting him back in the fold, but it’s just that, he’s got to work his way back into the rotation. And again, I like his attitude, I like his work habits, we’ll see where it takes us this week.”
While Moore is likely to see an increase in snaps starting as soon as this Sunday against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, there’s still no denying that Brown is already a better run blocker. In other words, unless the Steelers get into a lot obvious passing downs, Brown is likely to still see his fair share of snaps.
At some point during the season, the Steelers will also likely want to get rookie wide receiver Martavis Bryant a little playing time and let’s not forget that veteran Darrius Heyward-Bey still has the speed needed to stretch the field. Like Brown, Heyward-Bey is also a better run blocker than Moore.
Baring any injuries, Moore might even find himself as a healthy scratch later on in the season if Brown can take the next step when it comes to earning the trust of not only the coaching staff, but quarterback Ben Roethlisberger as well.
While Moore appears to be back on the moving train, it looks like he is riding on the caboose right now. Will see if he gets an opportunity to move forward to a passenger car Sunday against the Buccaneers.
