Pittsburgh’s slogan may be “next man up” but when it comes to replacing someone like Cam Heyward, it’s next men up. Speaking to reporters ahead of Thursday’s practice, Steelers’ DC Teryl Austin says it’ll be a multi-pronged approach to filling Heyward’s shoes.
“It will be by committee,” Austin said via The Trib’s Chris Adamski. “We have a lot of young guys in the program. We’ll try to get them in, let them play to their strengths. And the different things that they do well. But it’s not going to be one guy who replaces him.”
Undergoing surgery today, Heyward is expected to miss the next two months with groin/core muscle surgery. He could return for the team’s Week 12 game against the Cincinnati Bengals in late November.
Names to replace him include DL DeMarvin Leal and Isaiahh Loudermilk. Pittsburgh could also play rookie NT Keeanu Benton more. He’s coming off a quality debut and while he doesn’t play Heyward’s position, the team could shift current starting NT Montravius Adams over to end for a handful of snaps. According to our charting, Adams played three snaps at left defensive end in last Sunday’s loss to the San Francisco 49ers. Benton should also see an elevated role in the team’s sub-packages as a pass rusher. Only eight of his 29 Week One snaps came in the team’s nickel or dime packages.
Inactive last week, veteran Armon Watts is likely to dress for Monday night’s game against the Cleveland Browns. A plus-athlete with active hands, he has inside and outside versatility. Pittsburgh could also elevate NT Breiden Fehoko from the practice squad. An old-school plugger, he’d help against a tough Cleveland Browns ground game.
During the summer, Pittsburgh’s defensive line depth was one of the team’s strengths. It made for a tough decision on cutdown day, Fehoko the odd man out, and the Steelers still kept seven on their initial 53-man roster. Now, that depth will be tested with backups immediately turning into starters. Replacing all that Heyward does is a monumental task. His power, his effort, his leadership, his ability to stuff the run and collapse the pocket will be near-impossible to replicate, and asking any one player to pick up his slack would be foolish.
Pittsburgh is taking the right approach. The question is if they have the right personnel to weather this storm. They’ll begin to find that out Monday night. If not, it’s going to be a long road until Thanksgiving.
