In a bit of a surprise, the Pittsburgh Steelers didn’t make any roster moves ahead of their Week Eight matchup with the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Pittsburgh is going to potentially be thin at cornerback, with both CBs Levi Wallace and James Pierre listed as questionable for Sunday’s contest. Practice squad CB Luq Barcoo got first-team reps in practice on Friday, but the team didn’t elevate him. Whether that speaks to the team’s confidence in rookie CB Darius Rush, who they signed off the Kansas City Chiefs practice squad on October 18 or they’re confident that Wallace and/or Pierre will be able to play remains to be seen.
The Steelers also failed to activate RB Anthony McFarland Jr. off injured reserve for the second straight game, and McFarland will have to be activated by November 6, or he’ll spend the remainder of the season on IR. McFarland has been dealing with a knee injury.
DL Cameron Heyward also wasn’t activated off IR, which isn’t too surprising. While Heyward logged a full practice on Friday, the Steelers have a short week coming up with the Tennessee Titans on Thursday Night Football in Week Nine, and activating Heyward this week would’ve had him return ahead of his timeline. Heyward suffered a core muscle injury and tore his abductor in Pittsburgh’s Week One loss to the San Francisco 49ers.
With McFarland not being activated, it appears the Steelers will again turn to RB Godwin Igwebuike as their kick returner in Week Eight. Igwebuike returned one kick for 15 yards in Pittsburgh’s Week Seven win over the Los Angeles Rams.
The cornerback situation is the most interesting, as failing to elevate Barcoo could leave the Steelers really thin at the position on Sunday. The plan was to work Patrick Peterson inside more as he did against the Rams, while Joey Porter Jr. manned one outside corner opposite Wallace/Pierre. But with Wallace and Pierre questionable, it appears it could be Rush who starts opposite Porter at corner. But the Steelers could always reverse course and primarily play Peterson outside while using CB Chandon Sullivan as the team’s slot corner against Jacksonville.
We’ll have to see the final inactive tomorrow to know who’s available, but Pittsburgh’s cornerback situation is going to be something to watch on Sunday. With Heyward still out, DE DeMarvin Leal will likely maintain the role he’s held since Heyward was injured, but the Steelers run defense is going to need to be stout against the Jaguars’ rushing attack, which features RB Travis Etienne.
