The Pittsburgh Steelers will be without DL Cam Heyward for the foreseeable future. But they should have DL DeMarvin Leal for Monday night’s tilt against the Cleveland Browns. Speaking with reporters before Wednesday’s practice, Leal said the injured triceps that caused him to miss parts of Sunday’s loss to San Francisco shouldn’t be an issue going forward. At least, not to the point where he expects to sit out Week Two.
“Oh yeah, triceps [is] good,” he said via the team website. “Just make sure I keep up with treatment and make sure that it’s a hundred percent before the game. And just taking care of myself and feel like I can contribute and take that role and be able to be fortunate and take care of it.”
Leal suffered the injury at some point during Sunday’s loss. He played through the injury, only occasionally coming out of the lineup, and finished the game with 26 snaps. He recorded three tackles and had a quarterback hit as QB Brock Purdy escaped to his left on one play.
Pittsburgh will need Leal and company to step up in the absence of Heyward, who is expected to miss up to eight weeks due to a groin injury that requires surgery. It’s not clear when that surgery will take place. Assuming his health is good enough, Leal will be one of the primary players to see an increase in snaps. He could even start with Heyward out, though Isaiahh Loudermilk typically plays more right defensive end than Leal has.
In his sophomore year, Leal has shown better play against the run and the ability to beat single/base blocks. On this rep, he made future Hall of Fame left tackle Trent Williams whiff on the block before getting into the backfield to help make the stop.
His ability to anchor against double-teams is a problem and his run defense is inconsistent. Despite his athleticism, his pass-rush ability has surprisingly been poor, and he’s struggled to find a go-to move he can consistently win with. He’s a different style of rusher than Heyward, more finesse to Heyward’s power, but Pittsburgh will need all the pressure it can get.
Due to their game taking place Monday, the Steelers will release their first official injury report Thursday, giving us our first window into Leal’s availability. He could be limited early in the week but the fact his name wasn’t even mentioned by Mike Tomlin during Tuesday’s press conference is a good sign he’ll suit up for the Steelers’ primetime game.
Beyond him, the team will also count on Loudermilk, Armon Watts, and Breiden Fehoko along with Larry Ogunjobi, Montravius Adams, and rookie Keeanu Benton to slow down a Browns rushing attack that went for over 200 yards in Cleveland’s Week One blowout victory over the Cincinnati Bengals.
