While the Pittsburgh Steelers shuffle their cornerback spot, more roster moves are on the horizon. With WR Diontae Johnson and RB Anthony McFarland Jr. expected to be activated off injured reserve on Saturday and added to the 53-man roster, the team will need to make two corresponding moves to free up space for them.
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s Gerry Dulac thinks the two positions impacted by those moves will be running back and safety. Twice when asked in a Tuesday chat about corresponding moves for Johnson and McFarland, Dulac said it will come at the expense of a “RB and S.” Meaning, not WR Gunner Olszewski.
The running back move is obvious. Godwin Igwebuike will be the odd man out for McFarland. Inactive for every game this season after being signed off the Atlanta Falcons’ practice squad, this is an easy move to project. McFarland should be active and again become the team’s starting kick returner, a role he held to begin the season before suffering a knee injury that sent him to injured reserve.
With Johnson’s return, it seemed logical for Olszewski to get the heave-ho. But Dulac thinks it’ll be a safety. Given the current roster, that would almost certainly be Elijah Riley. After a solid training camp that seemed to leave the door open for him to see defensive snaps at slot corner, Riley has almost exclusively been used on special teams. He’s logged just 10 defensive snaps compared to nearly 100 on special teams, registering three total tackles through the team’s first five games.
In his two years with Pittsburgh, Olszewski has done nothing but hurt the team. Signed to be the Steelers’ primary return man, he’s fumbled the ball away multiple times and made terrible miscues, like fielding a kick that was going out of bounds in Week Two against the Cleveland Browns, costing the offense 21 yards of field position. He also fumbled away his only target of the season after taking a hard hit against the Browns that left him with a concussion.
With McFarland’s expected return, Olszewski won’t be a starting return man and won’t have much gameday value. But Dulac suggests his spot is safe, ostensibly because he can be a backup at so many spots. The backup kick and punt returner, and he can play all over on offense. Still, it doesn’t seem like enough justification to hold onto a player without a role and someone who has shown to be impossible to trust with the football in his hands.
Assuming Johnson and McFarland are activated, those moves will happen Saturday by 4 PM/EST ahead of Sunday’s game against the Los Angeles Rams.
