Now that the Pittsburgh Steelers have traded for cornerback Brandon Boykin, the team will need to make a corresponding move to accommodate him on their 90-man roster. That move will likely come sometime Sunday and while many have speculated that move will be rookie cornerback Senquez Golson being placed on injured reserve because of a shoulder injury, I can tell that won’t happen. At least not yet.
According to NFL rules, injured players with less than four years of service cannot be placed on injured reserve until the final round of cuts, unless they pass through waivers first. Being as Golson is a rookie, he obviously doesn’t qualify. Additionally, the Steelers are not going to expose Golson to waivers like they did just a few days ago with linebacker Shawn Lemon just to get him to injured reserve to free up a roster spot. It’s just too risky.
If you remember back to a few years ago, the New York Giants tried to pass tight end Jake Ballard through waivers in order to free up a roster spot and the New England Patriots claimed him torn ACL and all.
Also, in case you forgot, when former Steelers running back Baron Batch tore his ACL early in his rookie training camp, the Steelers waited until the final round of cuts before placing him on their injured reserve list.
So, if Golson to injured reserve is not an option, the Steelers will likely have to waive another player to make room for Boykin. Being as running back Ross Scheuerman suffered some sort of an Achilles injury during Sunday’s practice, he might very well be waived injured.
However, should Scheuerman be waived, the Steelers will likely need to add another running back to their 90 man roster and that would require yet another corresponding roster move. Unless there’s another injured player that can be waived, we could see one of the young offensive lineman sent on his way. That might very well be Collin Rahrig. Additionally, recently signed cornerback Jordan Sullen might be at risk of losing his spot on the roster as well now that Cortez Allen is back practicing again and Boykin has been acquired.
As for Golson, he is still on the Active PUP list so he’ll qualify for the Reserve PUP list as long as he doesn’t practice. Unless he needs season-ending surgery, that’s likely the route the team will take with him if he’s unable to get himself back on the field by the start of the regular season.
