The Pittsburgh Steelers placed defensive lineman Renell Wren on the team’s Reserve/Injured list a few weeks ago and that was a sign that he had suffered a significant injury. As of Wednesday afternoon, we now know the exact injury that Wren sustained.
According to Chris Adamski of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, Wren, who spent most of the 2022 season on the Steelers practice squad, suffered a torn right Achilles tendon. He explained his injury on Wednesday.
“And literally when I got out of my stance, it felt like someone hit my ankle with a baseball bat,” Wren said, according to Adamski’s report. “I turned around and thought somebody hit my ankle. And then I looked down and I just fell down.”
Now that we know the nature of Wren’s injury, there’s probably a good chance that he’ll spend the entire 2023 season on the Steelers’ Reserve/Injured list. His contract has a split clause, however, and that means he’s now set to earn $475,000 in 2023. He’ll also count against the Steelers’ salary cap starting in Week 1, assuming he does indeed remain on the Reserve/Injured list, which seems like a forgone conclusion at this point.
Should Wren, who has reportedly already undergone surgery for his torn Achilles, be able to pass a physical prior to end of the 2023 regular season, he could then be eligible to be waived from the Reserve/Injured list.
Last season, Wren was elevated from the Steelers’ practice squad to the team’s Active/Inactive roster for two games. He only saw action in one of those two contests, however. He logged just one snap in that Week 17 game against the Baltimore Ravens. The Steelers signed Wren to a Reserve/Future contract after the 2022 season ended.
A former fourth-round pick out of Arizona State, Wren’s NFL experience prior to the Steelers came with the Cincinnati Bengals between 2019-21, when he played in 12 games with nine total tackles.
After losing Wren to his Achilles injury, the Steelers claimed defensive lineman Manny Jones off waivers from the Arizona Cardinals on May 16th. With Wren on the Reserve/Injured list, he does not count against the Steelers 90-man offseason roster limit.
