After stating everything was on the table following the Week 5 blowout loss to the Buffalo Bills, the Pittsburgh Steelers didn’t make any major changes to the Week 6 depth chart, which was released Tuesday morning ahead of head coach Mike Tomlin’s weekly press conference.
The Steelers did make official the switch from Gunner Olszewski to Steven Sims on special teams in the kick and punt return slot, which follows the decision made Sunday in Buffalo to go with Sims over the free agent signee in Olszewski after a muffed punt in Week 2 against the New England Patriots, and a fumble on a punt return in Week 4 against the New York Jets. Still, that’s not a surprising, or even needle-moving decision by the Steelers’ coaching staff under Tomlin.
Pittsburgh made one other subtle change on the depth chart, placing rookie DeMarvin Leal over second-year defensive lineman Isaiahh Loudermilk at defensive tackle behind captain Cameron Heyward. That’s not much of a surprise, considering Leal has seen action in all five games and has played rather well, while Loudermilk continues to work back from an injury suffered in training camp and has yet to get a helmet for a game through five weeks.
Previously, Loudermilk was listed as the backup to Heyward and was expected to resume that role for the black and gold upon his return, but at least according to the depth chart that is Leal’s job now, as the third-round pick has continued to string together some strong performances in a rotational role defensively for the Steelers.
We’ll see if Tomlin announces any further changes Tuesday during his media session, whether that’s with situational football or with the coaching staff overall. But based on early returns with the updated depth chart Tuesday ahead of the Week 6 matchup at Acrisure Stadium against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, not much has changed.
