Pittsburgh Steelers DL Larry Ogunjobi popped up on the injury report Thursday as a limited participant in practice, leaving early with a groin injury. He was limited again on Friday and was listed as questionable for Sunday night’s game against the Dallas Cowboys. Thankfully, Ogunjobi is now off the injury report, per Steelers Senior Director of Communications Burt Lauten on Twitter.
It’s good news for the Steelers and Ogunjobi, whose tenure in Pittsburgh has sometimes been marred by injuries. For the first time in his Steelers career, Ogunjobi has been healthy this season, and he’s been a key piece of Pittsburgh’s defensive line. Alongside Cameron Heyward, he’s done a good job getting pressure on the quarterback and clogging up running lanes, and he’s been an underrated reason why the Steelers defense has been one of the best in the league.
So far this season, Ogunjobi has 14 total tackles, six solo tackles, and 0.5 sacks in 146 defensive snaps. With the Cowboys struggling on the ground this season, having Ogunjobi back will make things even more difficult for Dallas while providing another interior pass rush presence to try to get after Dak Prescott.
With Pittsburgh already down one key defensive piece in OLB Alex Highsmith, it’s even more important to have Ogunjobi ready to go. Pittsburgh has been using DeMarvin Leal as a backup outside linebacker. Leal, along with Dean Lowry and Isaiahh Loudermilk, would be the guys tasked with replacing Ogunjobi had he not been able to play. But it sounds as if he’ll be all good to go, and he’ll be important in helping the Steelers’ defense bounce back after a rough performance in Week 4 against the Indianapolis Colts.
