One of the biggest components of the Pittsburgh Steelers’ offseason was adding as much depth and competition as they could across the board. After a disastrous Week One where the team lost 30-7 to the San Francisco 49ers and also lost WR Diontae Johnson and DL Cameron Heyward to multi-week injuries, that depth is going to be tested. Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin said the team won’t completely shut out the idea of adding from the outside, but that the organization is comfortable its depth.
“We won’t turn a blind eye to the outside. That’s just appropriate business. But we’re also comfortable with the depth and the competition we’ve been able to assemble here,” Tomlin said via the team’s YouTube channel.
Pittsburgh’s defensive line room might be its deepest, with Armon Watts serving as a gameday inactive on Sunday while Breiden Fehoko is currently on the practice squad. Both of those guys have solid NFL experience, and it wouldn’t be a surprise to see Fehoko elevated with Heyward due to have surgery on his injured groin. Tomlin also said Watts is “under consideration” for a bigger role.
“He’s a guy that brought veteran experience, played a lot of ball in Chicago a year ago. I thought he really warmed up to our environment as he got a sense of what we we’re about and what we were asking. And that’s why we continued to do business with him,” Tomlin said about the fifth-year defensive lineman.
As far as the wide receiver room, the Steelers have Gunner Olszewski, who served as a gameday inactive, and Tomlin specifically said they feel “real comfortable” with him as an option. Olszewski also has some upside on teams, so he can make an impact even if it’s not as a pure receiver. Johnson’s injury also opens up the door for more opportunities from WR Calvin Austin III, who had six receptions for 37 yards on Sunday. He might get some run as the X receiver now with Johnson sidelined for “multiple weeks.”
Especially given the depth the team has along the defensive line, an outside addition there seems unlikely. At wide receiver, maybe the team looks to add an extra body to the practice squad, especially with WR Miles Boykin also shaken up in the 49ers game, but with Olszewski available and WR Dez Fitzpatrick already on the practice squad, it isn’t a major hole.
With today being the team’s off day, it wouldn’t be a surprise if they work out some outside additions, and that’ll help give us a better idea if they’re looking to target anyone from the outside to add to the practice squad or 53-man roster.
Obviously, the Steelers are worse off with Heyward and Johnson down for any length of time. Both of them are among the more talented players on Pitsburgh’s roster, particularly Heyward, a four-time All-Pro.
While they won’t fully be able to replace the production of either player, it does help that the team really worked to build its depth out throughout the offseason. Injuries are a part of the game, and while they suck, hopefully, the Steelers are prepared enough to mitigate the losses of Johnson and Heyward and be able to continue to compete for the postseason.
