It’s been a wierd week for the Pittsburgh Steelers exterior linebackers. First, the Steelers re-signed former Pittsburgh exterior linebacker Markus Golden. This appeared to be the lacking piece of the puzzle for depth as an edge rusher.
Then simply days later, Golden retires. What? So now, relatively than having all the pieces the Steelers want at exterior linebacker, they’re again to sq. one, proper? Possibly not.
The group’s first preseason sport was Friday night time and whereas the Steelers misplaced to the Houston Texans, two of the perfect gamers on the sphere for Pittsburgh have been exterior linebackers.
No, not these exterior linebackers. It wasn’t T.J. Watt and Alex Highsmith that stole the present. It was Jeremiah Moon and DeMarvin Leal. Every man had a sack towards the Texans and performed very properly.
The Steelers claimed Moon off waivers again in January. He spend his rookie season on and off of the Baltimore Ravens lively roster. However the former Florida edge had a protracted six-year profession prolonged by damage and COVID.
As for Leal, he’s trimmed down and it was nice to see him really taking some reps at exterior linebacker along with being defensive finish. Leal struggled in 2023 however it’s clear he’s taken it as a wakeup name.
Oh and we are able to’t overlook final season’s backup Nick Herbig who solely performed 11 snaps on Friday night time.
As we glance to replace our roster projection, It’s laborious to maintain Moon off the 53-man roster due to his play final week and Leal cemented his spot on the depth chart. Do the Steelers nonetheless need assistance at exterior linebacker? Possibly not.
