The Pittsburgh Steelers have made a slew of roster moves ahead of their Week 6 game against the Las Vegas Raiders. The team placed DL/EDGE DeMarvin Leal (neck) on injured reserve, signed EDGE Ade Ogundeji from the practice squad to the 53-man roster, and used their two weekly practice squad elevations on EDGE Eku Leota and RB Jonathan Ward.
Pittsburgh needed to bolster their outside linebacker depth with EDGEs Nick Herbig, Alex Highsmith, and Leal injured and ruled out for Sunday’s game. Ogundeji isn’t a household name but brings over 1,000 snaps of experience. A fifth-round pick of the Atlanta Falcons, he has appeared in 32 games, making 27 starts and recording 75 tackles along with 3 sacks across the 2021 and 2022 seasons with the Falcons. He spent 2023 on injured reserve before spending the 2024 summer with Atlanta. After being cut, the Steelers signed him to their practice squad.
Leota went undrafted in 2023 but caught on with the Carolina Panthers. Appearing in 10 games as a rookie, he picked up his first NFL sack earlier this year in the season opener with Carolina, taking down New Orleans Saints QB Derek Carr in the second quarter. After being cut by the Panthers in September, he signed to the Steelers’ practice squad on Oct. 1st.
Jeremiah Moon and T.J. Watt will start at outside linebacker. The team has also left open the possibility of using DL Isaiahh Loudermilk on the EDGE as a hybrid player, which is the same strategy they used with Leal.
Leal suffered his neck injury early in the fourth quarter of the team’s Week 5 loss to the Dallas Cowboys. He didn’t practice all week and had been ruled out of tomorrow’s game. It’s a promising sign that Herbig was able to avoid IR, though he also won’t play this weekend. Leal will miss at least the Steelers’ next four games.
Ward’s elevation is a curious one after RB Jaylen Warren was removed from the injury report and cleared to play against the Raiders. Still, the team will have injury protection, and Ward can play on special teams, starting as the right wing on the punt coverage team last week.
The Steelers and Raiders kick off Sunday at 4:05 PM/EST.
