The Pittsburgh Steelers put both OLB Jeremiah Moon and OT Dylan Cook on injured reserve during final roster cuts, but both were designated to return, meaning they could be activated at any point after four games. DL Logan Lee also went on IR ahead of Week 1, and with four games elapsed, Moon, Cook and Lee are eligible to open up their window to return to practice.
“I hadn’t had those meetings yet but probably. And so there’s a level of excitement there. So we’ll see what their participation looks like and the quality of their participation and harden that up as we get closer to game time,” Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said Tuesday during his weekly press conference via the team’s YouTube channel.
The Steelers could certainly use the additional depth both at outside linebacker and along the offensive line. They’ve lost OT Troy Fautanu for the season while OG James Daniels also is done for the season with an Achilles injury. While Cook has limited experience kicking inside, he’s an additional body for a line that’s been decimated by injuries.
Alex Highsmith is also likely to miss his second straight game with a groin injury, and the Steelers rolled with just three outside linebackers last week in T.J. Watt, Nick Herbig and DeMarvin Leal. Moon would likely be the OLB4 until Highsmith comes back. He could also hold that role down if the team wants Leal to move back to the defensive line and also help on special teams.
Special teams is another area where the Steelers are banged up with Ben Skowronek and Tyler Matakevich currently on IR, and Moon could help mitigate those losses a little bit. Even if the practice windows are opened, it doesn’t mean that either Cook or Moon will be ready to go this week as teams have 21 days after the practice window is opened to activate the players off IR. So it could be up to three weeks for Cook and Moon to fully return if indeed the practice windows are opened this week.
The defensive line has stayed relatively healthy, so there isn’t a huge opportunity for playing time for Lee although Mike Tomlin did say Keeanu Benton might be limited in practice early in the week with an injury. Still, he’s not expected to miss time, and with a healthy defensive line, Lee could wind up just serving as depth.
If practice windows are opened, we’ll likely find out when Pittsburgh has its first practice of the week tomorrow. Lee, Cook and Moon are the only three who are eligible to resume practicing this week.
All three are becoming eligible at a good time with Pittsburgh’s current injury issues. While none of the three are expected to play any sort of major role, they are good depth pieces and with the roster looking more like a M*A*S*H unit with each passing week, depth is as important as ever.
