The Pittsburgh Steelers are now into the regular season, in which they entered with big aspirations, in spite of a tumultuous start to the offseason. Significant players were lost via trade and free agency, players who have helped shape the course of the franchise in recent years. We even now sit here without Ben Roethlisberger after just two games.
The team made some bold moves this offseason and in some areas of the roster look quite a bit different than they did a year ago. That would especially be the case at wide receiver and inside linebacker, where they have new starters. And quarterback was suddenly added to that list.
How will the season progress without Roethlisberger, behind Mason Rudolph? How will the young players advance into their expected roles? Will the new coaches be up to the task? Who is looking good in games? Who is sitting out due to injury?
These are the sorts of questions among many others that we have been exploring on a daily basis and will continue to do so. Football has become a year-round pastime and there is always a question to be asked, though there is rarely a concrete answer, as I’ve learned in my years of doing this.
Question: Did the Steelers try to re-sign Tuzar Skipper to the practice squad?
The Steelers started the regular season with five outside linebackers on the 53-man roster. Since Tuzar Skipper was claimed off waivers, they later added Jayrone Elliott to replace him, but later released him when an injury need arose.
Yesterday, with Anthony Chickillo being placed on the Commissioner’s Exempt List, they re-signed Elliott, and chose not to put in a waiver claim for Skipper, who was just released the day before by the New York Giants. After clearing waivers, the Giants re-signed him to the practice squad.
The question is, did the Steelers try to sign him to their practice squad? After all, it would make sense if they did. The belief is that they were trying to move him to the practice squad when they originally waived him.
Additionally, right now, T.J. Watt is dealing with an injury, so they could use the extra body in practice. They may also be down to only three outside linebackers, with Olasunkanmi Adeniyi starting and Elliott as the lone backup, on Monday.
It’s possible that the Steelers offered to sign Skipper as well, but that he chose to stay in New York. Perhaps the Giants told him that they would be bringing him back up to the 53-man roster later in the season, or perhaps he’s more comfortable in their system.
Or perhaps they’re the only team who showed any interest in him, leaving them as his only option. Will we ever find out if that was the case?
