The Pittsburgh Steelers could be starting Jeremiah Moon opposite T.J. Watt this week, with two edge rushers elevated from the practice squad. They will be down Alex Highsmith, Nick Herbig, and even DeMarvin Leal, yet are not making any moves. Nor do reporters anticipate they will—perhaps based on their recent experiences.
“I’m kind of surprised that they haven’t signed a veteran”, Ray Fittipaldo of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette said on 93.7 The Fan yesterday about the Steelers standing pat at outside linebacker in the face of mounting injuries. Highsmith is set to miss his third game, while Herbig and Leal went down on Sunday. They only carried three true outside linebackers on the 53-man roster initially, though they had Moon on the Reserve/Injured List. But why won’t they address the depth here in some more substantial way?
“You kind of sense that they’re getting away from the veteran route”, Fittipaldo said, referencing recent moves like Patrick Peterson not working out as hoped. “Now you can go sign a veteran outside linebacker, but they’re going with practice squad guys that I’ve never heard of”.
I’m not sure it does Fittipaldo any favors to reveal that he has never heard of Adetokunbo Ogundeji or Eku Leota, both of whom have NFL playing time. In fact, Ogundeji has over 1,000 defensive snaps to his name and is a former fifth-round pick. And, by the way, Arthur Smith drafted him in Atlanta in 2021. Now on the Steelers’ practice squad, he brings along 75, career tackles, eight for loss, and three sacks.
The Steelers’ other practice squad rusher, Leota, went undrafted last year, and spent his entire career with the Panthers before Pittsburgh signed him on Oct. 1. He does have 133 career defensive snaps, playing two games this year, plus 113 special teams snaps.
But to Fittipaldo’s point, what are the Steelers’ options on the veteran market? Perhaps the best available candidate, Shaq Lawson, is set to sign with the Panthers. You could talk about Rasheem Green, and perhaps some others who suffered injuries in August. But there’s a reason there aren’t many splash signings in October.
“I do think there’s something going on within that organization where they want to develop the younger guys [and] see what they’ve got there”, Fittipaldo said. “These veterans that they’ve signed in the past, I just don’t think that’s happening here in 2024”.
The Steelers did sign one veteran earlier this offseason. They brought back Markus Golden after he served as their third outside linebacker last year, but he chose to retire after a couple weeks back. And at this point I’m guessing he isn’t even in shape. So then guys Ray Fittipaldo has never heard of it is.
