The decision has been made. The Pittsburgh Steelers will not have guard Kevin Dotson back on their active 53-man roster this season.
Dotson, who has been sidelined with an ankle injury since Week 10, was not activated to the Steelers’ 53-man roster from the Reserve/Injured list as a designated-to-return player on Wednesday and thus his 21-day practice window has now expired. He will now remain on the Reserve/Injured list and can’t return to play until next season.
Dotson’s 21-day practice window was opened exactly 21 days ago so Wednesday was the deadline for the Steelers to make a decision with the 2020 fourth-round draft pick out of Louisiana-Lafayette. Dotson suffered his ankle injury during the Steelers Week 10 tie against the Detroit Lions.
Prior to Dotson sustaining his ankle injury he had played 565 total offensive snaps at left guard. Since he went down injured, the Steelers have used several players at the left guard position with the most recent one being John Leglue, who is expected to remain the team’s starter with Dotson not returning.
