Will the Pittsburgh Steelers have backup veteran offensive lineman Stefen Wisniewski back on Sunday for the road game against the Dallas Cowboys? It certainly seems the odds of that happening are very good and especially with Wisniewski 21-day practice window coming to an end on Tuesday. Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin was asked during his Tuesday press confgfrence about Wisniewski and if the team needs to make a decision with him this week
“We do and we will,” Tomlin said.
Wisniewski, who suffered a pectoral injury in the Steelers Week 1 game against the New York Giants, has been on the team’s Reserve/Injured list since Week 2. He resumed practicing on October 13 and when that happened a 21-day window opened for him. What that means is that the Steelers must decide at the end of the 21 days whether or not they wish to return Wisniewski to the active 53-man roster or leave him on the Reserve/Injured list for the remainder of the season. That decision should be due by the time the team practices on Wednesday.
Assuming Wisniewski is designated to return to the active 53-man roster this week, the Steelers will need to make a corresponding move to accommodate the veteran offensive lineman. That corresponding move could be the release of running back Trey Edmunds. The team also could decide to waive one of two backup offensive linemen, J.C. Hassenauer or Derwin Gray, to make room for Wisniewski. We’ll find out soon enough.
Wisniewski, who signed a two-year contract with the Steelers during the offseason, started the team’s Week 1 game against the Giants at right guard in place of injured starter David DeCastro. Wisniewski left that contest late in the fourth quarter with a pectoral injury.
