Tag: DeMarvin Leal

Steelers place key defender on IR

The Steelers fear they’ve lost Demarvin Leal for the season.

Last week in their loss to the Dallas Cowboys, the Pittsburgh Steelers lost two edge key edge rushers to injury. Nick Herbig and Demarvin Leal were both forced out of the game and now, Leal’s season looks to be over.

According to Steelers writer Ray Fittipaldo, the Steelers have placed Leal on IR with a neck injury, essentially ending his season.

Fittipaldo also noted that the Steelers elevated EDGE Ade Ogundeji to the 53-man roster for this week’s game against the Las Vegas Raiders. The team also promoted EDGE Eku Leota to the active roster and we expect both guys to get a helmet on Sunday.

https://twitter.com/rayfitt1/status/1845089040829128856

Second-year edge rusher Jeremiah Moon will get the start opposite T.J. Watt but we expect everyone to get a chance to get reps in hopes of finding someone who can help pressure the quarterback.

The Steelers take on the Raiders in Las Vegas on Sunday.

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Steelers injury updates: 2 key defenders already ruled out vs the Raiders

The Steelers have quickly run out of edge rushers.

When Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin addressed the media on Tuesday, it was almost all bad news on the injury front. The Steelers are preparing to take on the Las Vegas Raiders this week and Tomlin already ruled out edge rushers Nick Herbig and Demarvin Leal with injuries.

This leaves T.J. Watt and Jeremiah Moon as the only edge rushers on the roster. Pittsburgh is already minus Alex Highsmith who is on IR. The Steelers do have three edge defenders on the practice squad and Tomlin said one of them could get an opportunity this week.

They are Adetokunbo Ogundeji, Eku Leota and Jacoby Windmon. Windmon had a pretty strong preseason and showed some solid athleticism as a rookie. We expect to see the Steelers work in inside linebackers Patrick Queen and Payton Wilson into the gameplan as well, either as inside blitzers or even coming off the edge.

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Steelers injury updates: 2 edge rushers hurt in loss

Mike Tomlin offered some injury updates after the game.

After the Pittsburgh Steelers 20-17 loss to the Dallas Cowboys, head coach Mike Tomlin addressed the media about the loss. He offered up a brief injury update on the two pass-rushing outside linebackers who were injured for the Steelers during the game.

First, the Steelers lost starter Nick Herbig to a hamstring injury. This hurt because Herbig is in the starting lineup because regular starter Alex Highsmith is out. Once Herbig went out, hybrid defensive end/outside linebacker Demarvin Leal took over his duties.

Leal is a huge step down from Herbig but when he was lost with a neck injury, it was Jeremiah Moon who was just activated off IR this week who was pressed into duty.

Tomlin didn’t offer any details on the severity of either injury but we should know more when Tomlin speaks to the media again on Tuesday as the team must now put their second-straight loss behind them and focus on preparing to take on the Las Vegas Raiders.

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Mike Tomlin sees ‘no significant issue’ with Steelers DT DeMarvin Leal

Pittsburgh Steelers defensive lineman DeMarvin Leal will be tasked with playing a rotational role at OLB with Alex Highsmith injured.

On more than one occasion this offseason, Pittsburgh Steelers defensive tackle DeMarvin Leal was floated as a trade candidate. It’s a good thing those hypothetical situations didn’t come to fruition because he’s about to see increased opportunities after the injury to outside linebacker Alex Highsmith.

Leal, a third-round pick by the Steelers in the 2022 NFL draft, has been painfully slow to come on. He’s appeared in 26 games with six starts, logging four passes defended, a sack and 32 total tackles.

Mike Tomlin is a big fan of his players’ ability to handle multiple positions and Leal is no different.

“Speaking of positional flexibility, man, Leal, throughout team development, has been playing outside linebacker and defensive line. He did so last year, so it’s not anything new for him.”

Tomlin sees no issue with Leal stepping into whatever role it happens to be.

“I don’t view that as a significant issue in terms of him elevating and getting more opportunity; it’s more of the same, really. It’s probably more of what he desires to do because he definitively wants to play. This guy has had a good team development process and I’m excited about what he’s going to do with increase opportunities.”

According to Pro Football Focus premium stats, the majority of Leal’s snaps have been taken at right end (78), but he could be tasked with playing a rotational role behind Nick Herbig while Highsmith goes through the process of healing his groin injury. Leal has played 36 snaps on the left and 56 on the right during his career.

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What the release of Kyron Johnson might mean for the Steelers

The Steelers are planning to release edge defender Kyron Johnson.

One of the finalists for Pittsburgh Steelers preseason stud of 2024 was outside linebacker Kyron Johnson. But it turns out Johnson was on the wrong end of the numbers game as NFL reporter Aaron Wilson is reporting that the Steelers are releasing Johnson.

Johnson is a likely candidate for the Steelers to re-sign to the practice squad but as Wilson pointed out, there could be some NFL teams looking to sign him to their 53-man rosters and it would be tempting.

Why would the Steelers release Johnson after such a strong camp and preseason? There are a couple of ways to look at it.

First off, Nick Herbig is turning into a star right before our eyes. Pittsburgh typically rotates three edge defenders so Herbig is going to take most of the reps after T.J. Watt and Alex Highsmith.

The Steelers also have two other players who can more than fill a similar role. Jeremiah Moon had a big preseason as well and is similar enough to Johnson keeping either guy makes sense.

Then there is DeMarvin Leal. The Steelers have made it no secret they want to use him as an oversized outside linebacker and he’s answered the call. We love what we’ve seen from Leal and he could make Moon expendable as well.

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Steelers EDGE position battle heats up after Week One

The Steelers seem to have all the pass rushers they need.

It’s been a strange week for the Pittsburgh Steelers outside linebackers. First, the Steelers re-signed former Pittsburgh outside linebacker Markus Golden. This seemed to be the missing piece of the puzzle for depth as an edge rusher.

Then just days later, Golden retires. What? So now, rather than having everything the Steelers need at outside linebacker, they are back to square one, right? Maybe not.

The team’s first preseason game was Friday night and while the Steelers lost to the Houston Texans, two of the best players on the field for Pittsburgh were outside linebackers.

No, not those outside linebackers. It wasn’t T.J. Watt and Alex Highsmith that stole the show. It was Jeremiah Moon and DeMarvin Leal. Each guy had a sack against the Texans and played very well.

The Steelers claimed Moon off waivers back in January. He spend his rookie season on and off of the Baltimore Ravens active roster. But the former Florida edge had a long six-year career extended by injury and COVID.

As for Leal, he’s trimmed down and it was great to see him actually taking some reps at outside linebacker in addition to being defensive end. Leal struggled in 2023 but it’s clear he’s taken it as a wakeup call.

Oh and we can’t forget last season’s backup Nick Herbig who only played 11 snaps on Friday night.

As we look to update our roster projection, It’s hard to keep Moon off the 53-man roster thanks to his play last week and Leal cemented his spot on the depth chart. Do the Steelers still need help at outside linebacker? Maybe not.

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Steelers EDGE position battle heats up after Week One

The Steelers seem to have all the pass rushers they need.

It’s been a strange week for the Pittsburgh Steelers outside linebackers. First, the Steelers re-signed former Pittsburgh outside linebacker Markus Golden. This seemed to be the missing piece of the puzzle for depth as an edge rusher.

Then just days later, Golden retires. What? So now, rather than having everything the Steelers need at outside linebacker, they are back to square one, right? Maybe not.

The team’s first preseason game was Friday night and while the Steelers lost to the Houston Texans, two of the best players on the field for Pittsburgh were outside linebackers.

No, not those outside linebackers. It wasn’t T.J. Watt and Alex Highsmith that stole the show. It was Jeremiah Moon and DeMarvin Leal. Each guy had a sack against the Texans and played very well.

The Steelers claimed Moon off waivers back in January. He spend his rookie season on and off of the Baltimore Ravens active roster. But the former Florida edge had a long six-year career extended by injury and COVID.

As for Leal, he’s trimmed down and it was great to see him actually taking some reps at outside linebacker in addition to being defensive end. Leal struggled in 2023 but it’s clear he’s taken it as a wakeup call.

Oh and we can’t forget last season’s backup Nick Herbig who only played 11 snaps on Friday night.

As we look to update our roster projection, It’s hard to keep Moon off the 53-man roster thanks to his play last week and Leal cemented his spot on the depth chart. Do the Steelers still need help at outside linebacker? Maybe not.

[lawrence-auto-related count=”3″]

Steelers EDGE position battle heats up after Week One

The Steelers seem to have all the pass rushers they need.

It’s been a strange week for the Pittsburgh Steelers outside linebackers. First, the Steelers re-signed former Pittsburgh outside linebacker Markus Golden. This seemed to be the missing piece of the puzzle for depth as an edge rusher.

Then just days later, Golden retires. What? So now, rather than having everything the Steelers need at outside linebacker, they are back to square one, right? Maybe not.

The team’s first preseason game was Friday night and while the Steelers lost to the Houston Texans, two of the best players on the field for Pittsburgh were outside linebackers.

No, not those outside linebackers. It wasn’t T.J. Watt and Alex Highsmith that stole the show. It was Jeremiah Moon and DeMarvin Leal. Each guy had a sack against the Texans and played very well.

The Steelers claimed Moon off waivers back in January. He spend his rookie season on and off of the Baltimore Ravens active roster. But the former Florida edge had a long six-year career extended by injury and COVID.

As for Leal, he’s trimmed down and it was great to see him actually taking some reps at outside linebacker in addition to being defensive end. Leal struggled in 2023 but it’s clear he’s taken it as a wakeup call.

Oh and we can’t forget last season’s backup Nick Herbig who only played 11 snaps on Friday night.

As we look to update our roster projection, It’s hard to keep Moon off the 53-man roster thanks to his play last week and Leal cemented his spot on the depth chart. Do the Steelers still need help at outside linebacker? Maybe not.

[lawrence-auto-related count=”3″]

Steelers EDGE position battle heats up after Week One

The Steelers seem to have all the pass rushers they need.

It’s been a strange week for the Pittsburgh Steelers outside linebackers. First, the Steelers re-signed former Pittsburgh outside linebacker Markus Golden. This seemed to be the missing piece of the puzzle for depth as an edge rusher.

Then just days later, Golden retires. What? So now, rather than having everything the Steelers need at outside linebacker, they are back to square one, right? Maybe not.

The team’s first preseason game was Friday night and while the Steelers lost to the Houston Texans, two of the best players on the field for Pittsburgh were outside linebackers.

No, not those outside linebackers. It wasn’t T.J. Watt and Alex Highsmith that stole the show. It was Jeremiah Moon and DeMarvin Leal. Each guy had a sack against the Texans and played very well.

The Steelers claimed Moon off waivers back in January. He spend his rookie season on and off of the Baltimore Ravens active roster. But the former Florida edge had a long six-year career extended by injury and COVID.

As for Leal, he’s trimmed down and it was great to see him actually taking some reps at outside linebacker in addition to being defensive end. Leal struggled in 2023 but it’s clear he’s taken it as a wakeup call.

Oh and we can’t forget last season’s backup Nick Herbig who only played 11 snaps on Friday night.

As we look to update our roster projection, It’s hard to keep Moon off the 53-man roster thanks to his play last week and Leal cemented his spot on the depth chart. Do the Steelers still need help at outside linebacker? Maybe not.

[lawrence-auto-related count=”3″]

Steelers EDGE position battle heats up after Week One

The Steelers seem to have all the pass rushers they need.

It’s been a strange week for the Pittsburgh Steelers outside linebackers. First, the Steelers re-signed former Pittsburgh outside linebacker Markus Golden. This seemed to be the missing piece of the puzzle for depth as an edge rusher.

Then just days later, Golden retires. What? So now, rather than having everything the Steelers need at outside linebacker, they are back to square one, right? Maybe not.

The team’s first preseason game was Friday night and while the Steelers lost to the Houston Texans, two of the best players on the field for Pittsburgh were outside linebackers.

No, not those outside linebackers. It wasn’t T.J. Watt and Alex Highsmith that stole the show. It was Jeremiah Moon and DeMarvin Leal. Each guy had a sack against the Texans and played very well.

The Steelers claimed Moon off waivers back in January. He spend his rookie season on and off of the Baltimore Ravens active roster. But the former Florida edge had a long six-year career extended by injury and COVID.

As for Leal, he’s trimmed down and it was great to see him actually taking some reps at outside linebacker in addition to being defensive end. Leal struggled in 2023 but it’s clear he’s taken it as a wakeup call.

Oh and we can’t forget last season’s backup Nick Herbig who only played 11 snaps on Friday night.

As we look to update our roster projection, It’s hard to keep Moon off the 53-man roster thanks to his play last week and Leal cemented his spot on the depth chart. Do the Steelers still need help at outside linebacker? Maybe not.

[lawrence-auto-related count=”3″]