It’s been a wierd week for the Pittsburgh Steelers exterior linebackers. First, the Steelers re-signed former Pittsburgh exterior linebacker Markus Golden. This gave the impression to be the lacking piece of the puzzle for depth as an edge rusher.
Then simply days later, Golden retires. What? So now, fairly than having every thing the Steelers want at exterior linebacker, they’re again to sq. one, proper? Perhaps not.
The crew’s first preseason recreation was Friday evening and whereas the Steelers misplaced to the Houston Texans, two of the perfect gamers on the sphere for Pittsburgh had 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 an extended six-year profession prolonged by damage and COVID.
As for Leal, he’s trimmed down and it was nice to see him truly taking some reps at exterior linebacker along with being defensive finish. Leal struggled in 2023 but it surely’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 evening.
As we glance to replace our roster projection, It’s onerous 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? Perhaps not.
