The Pittsburgh Steelers figure to be without Alex Highsmith, Nick Herbig, and DeMarvin Leal on Sunday versus the Las Vegas Raiders. That leaves the cupboard pretty bare at outside linebacker, but they still have T.J. Watt. Even so, Cameron Heyward doesn’t believe Watt needs to do anything extraordinary. But they do need the new pieces to step in and do their part.
“It’ll be a group by committee, and T.J.”, Heyward via the Steelers’ website said about the Steelers’ approach at outside linebacker this week. “We know they’re gonna [key] on T.J., but we have faith in our younger guys”.
Those “guys’ after Watt primarily consist of former Baltimore Ravens OLB Jeremiah Moon. The Steelers just activated Moon from the Reserve/Injured List, and he had to play 28 snaps last Sunday. Both Herbig and Leal went down with injuries, so they had little choice.
As for the rest of the committee, aside from DL Isaiahh Loudermilk on runs, we’re talking about practice squad players. The guys in question are Adetokunbo Ogundeji and Eku Leota, both of whom have prior NFL experience. Ogundeji actually played for Arthur Smith with the Atlanta Falcons, if that’s worth anything to you. But at least it’s a commonality, which the Steelers are looking for with these new faces.
“Still getting to know them”, Heyward admitted in talking about Ogundeji and Leota. But he knows the Steelers will need them this week, so that accelerates the process. “We’re gonna learn each other pretty quick. We’ll get used to it”.
Ogundeji, a former fifth-round pick, signed to the Steelers’ practice squad on Aug. 30, so he is familiar with the system by now. Leota only signed on Oct. 1, so he is on a crash course. But can the Steelers afford to elevate both, or will they need an elevation elsewhere? They might have to make a change to the 53-man roster somewhere along the line.
But ultimately, T.J. Watt, as always, is at the heart of the Steelers’ recipe for success. They just need others to draw enough attention to allow Watt to do what he does. If they can get some decent reps from Moon, Leota, and Ogundeji, that should hopefully be sufficient.
“I think T.J. knows he’s got to play well, but it’s not like he’s got to be Superman”, Heyward said. But it does often feel like the Steelers need him to be Superman. “He’s just got to be himself. We win games working together, not just one person”.
“It’s up to those younger guys to at least stay in their gaps”, he added. In other words, stick to the system, do your job, and don’t let the offense run you over. The Steelers know they can’t realistically expect splash plays from their third-stringers. They just need them to do enough to allow T.J. Watt and company to function appropriately.
