The Pittsburgh Steelers have opened the 21-day practice window for ILB/ST Tyler Matakevich. He is designated to return and can now resume practicing. The Steelers have 21 days to make a decision to move him from IR back to the 53-man roster. If he doesn’t get activated and the window closes, he would then revert back to season-ending IR.
Matakevich is primarily a core special teamer and was serving as a gunner on the punt coverage unit before injuring his hamstring against the Denver Broncos in Week 2. He had two special teams tackles prior to the injury. Along with his duties as a gunner, Matakevich was playing on kick coverage, kick return, and the punt return units.
He has been a great special teamer for years in the NFL, which is the main reason he is now in his ninth season in the league. After being selected by the Steelers in the seventh round of the 2016 NFL Draft, he spent his first four seasons with the Steelers before heading to the Buffalo Bills for four seasons. He served as a special teams captain there for three years.
Matakevich has 66 career special teams tackles. Along with Steelers ST captain Miles Killebrew, they form one of the most experienced tandems of special teams aces in the NFL.
For a special teams unit that is turning into a weapon under ST coordinator Danny Smith, particularly in the punt- and field goal-block units, gaining another impact player will only elevate the group further.
It is rare that a team can have more than one or two blocks in a season, and the Steelers have three in the last three weeks. It certainly won’t hurt to add another special teams ace back into the mix like Tyler Matakevich, especially one who has leadership experience in that phase of the game.
