As expected, the Pittsburgh Steelers made a few transactions on Saturday and those include a few players being brought up from the practice squad to the team’s Active/Inactive roster and one other being placed on the Reserve/Injured list.
The Steelers placed rookie defensive end DeMarvin Leal on the Reserve/Injured list on Saturday. Leal apparently suffered a knee injury on Friday as he was added to the injury report as out. Leal, the Steelers’ third round selection this year out of Texas A&M, played in the team’s first five games. He registered nine total tackles, one for a loss, and had one pass defensed in 96 total defensive snaps played.
Leal will need to miss at least the next four game. We should find out in the next week if his knee injury is season-ending or not.
Taking Leal’s place on the 53-man roster is cornerback Josh Jackson, who is expected to start on Sunday against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers due to cornerbacks Cameron Sutton, Levi Wallace and Ahkello Witherspoon all sidelined with injuries. Jackson played 26 defensive snaps in last Sunday’s road game on his way to totaling two tackles and one fumble recovery.
Elevated from the practice squad on Saturday were cornerback Quincy Wilson and safety Elijah Riley. This makes the second week that Riley has been elevated and the second for Riley. He did not log any playing time last Sunday. He is needed this week due to safety Minkah Fitzpatrick being ruled out for Sunday’s game against the Buccaneers with a knee injury.
As for Wilson, he was recently signed to the Steelers practice squad. His elevation is also needed due to all the injuries the Steelers have at the cornerback position this week. For his NFL career to date, Wilson has played in 32 games with 11 starts. He has recorded 62 total tackles, two interceptions and eight passes defensed from 2017-2020. He also recovered one fumble.
Riley and Wilson should revert back to the practice squad on Monday.
