For the second straight week, the Pittsburgh Steelers lost a key inside linebacker to a season-ending injury, this time with veteran Kwon Alexander going down with a reported torn Achilles against the Green Bay Packers Sunday at Acrisure Stadium.
Alexander’s injury came one week after Cole Holcomb suffered a serious knee injury, landing him on Injured Reserve.
Due to the injuries to Holcomb and Alexander, the Steelers are now perilously thin at inside linebacker this late in the season. Additions are coming to the roster, that much is almost assured. Where those additions come from is anyone’s guess right now though.
Steelers.com’s Bob Labriola believes that the Steelers will promote from within at the position though, meaning from the practice squad. Responding to a reader in the latest edition of Asked and Answered Monday, Labriola stated he believes the Steelers will first stay in house and that if they add from the outside they’ll add guys to the practice squad first.
“At this stage of the regular season, and with the complexities in playing inside linebacker, I would think any signings would be players who would start off on the practice squad,” Labriola said, according to Steelers.com. “Because any player signed off another team’s practice squad would have to count on the 53-man roster for three games, I see the team first promoting from within so that guys already on the roster and practice squad would move up the depth chart.”
Currently, the Steelers have linebackers Mykal Walker and Tariq Carpenter on the practice squad at the inside linebacker position. Walker has started 20 games at linebacker in the NFL and recorded 107 tackles last season as a starter for the Atlanta Falcons. He was signed to the practice squad a few weeks ago and continues to get up to speed within the Steelers’ system.
That familiarity process might need to put into overdrive now with the Steelers having the significant need at the position. Carpenter was elevated for Sunday’s matchup against the Packers due to the injury to Holcomb, but he did not play a single defensive snap, seeing action on just 10 special teams plays.
Carpenter might get a look full-time at the position on the 53-man roster at this point, too.
But if the Steelers go outside of the organization to add, Labriola believes it will be on the practice squad.
Former linebacker Nick Kwiatkoski remains a free agent. He spent training camp with the Steelers and knows the scheme. He is a logical name to consider adding to the practice squad. The popular name out there right now as the best available free agent at the position is Anthony Barr.
However, Barr hasn’t been with a team all offseason for OTAs, minicamp, or even training camp, and he’d need a few weeks to presumably get into football shape, so he feels like a bit of a stretch currently. The Steelers very clearly have to do something at the inside linebacker position though. There is no clear solution, but they have to add a name or two to rebuilt depth there.
Chances are, it won’t be a big add. Instead, it will likely be practice squad adds of names they are familiar with from the pre-draft process or names they’ve spent some time with previously.
