The Pittsburgh Steelers have designated DT Carlos Davis from IR, opening up a 21-day window for his return to the team. The team announced the move moments ago.
Davis was placed on IR October 27th due to a knee injury. He has battled the injury for most of the season. After playing 17 snaps in the opener against Buffalo, he was a weekly inactive due to the injury. Despite a handful of limited practices, he was placed on IR late last month to make room for RB Anthony McFarland.
On the season, Davis has recorded one tackle. A seventh-round pick in 2020, as a rookie, he recorded six tackles in seven games.
Enjoying a solid summer, here’s how we evaluated Davis during training camp and the preseason, giving him a B grade for his performance.
“Davis is a little Javon Hargrave-like. A wide body and big lower half who sorta runs with some funky forward lean, he’s a plus athlete with great burst and snap off the ball. As Tomlin noted, they like him better as a pass rusher than run defender. Davis certainly had no issue getting after the QB with two pressures in the first three games and several other ones that were near-pressure. He’s also gotten work on special teams, kick coverage and punt block/return, giving him additional value on gameday beyond being a backup nose tackle/#5 DL.”
Davis’ return will provide much-needed depth along the Steelers’ defensive line, a unit that has had multiple injuries this season. Stephon Tuitt has yet to play this season while Tyson Alualu fractured his ankle two games into the year. Pittsburgh has relied on rookies and young players like Isaiahh Loudermilk, Henry Mondeaux, and Isaiah Buggs to fill the void.
However, it’s unclear when and even if Davis will be activated. The odds of him playing this Sunday are low.
