Tag: Stefen Wisniewski

Chiefs expected to sign OL Stefen Wisniewski to practice squad

Wisniewski returns to the Kansas City Chiefs after a brief stay with the Pittsburgh Steelers.

The Kansas City Chiefs are set to add a mainstay from their Super Bowl LIV run to the practice squad.

According to Yahoo Sports’ Terez Paylor, the Chiefs intend to sign OL Stefen Wisniewski to the practice squad. Paylor’s report has since been confirmed by The Athletic and The Kansas City Star. Paylor says the team anticipates that Wisniewski will start on the practice squad, but is likely to be promoted to the 53-man roster for the stretch run.

That’s a familiar sentiment as Wisniewski provided crucial depth for Kansas City during the stretch run of last season, starting the final two games of the regular season and all three playoff games including the Super Bowl.

Wisniewski had his visit with the Chiefs today and is expected to sign to the practice squad once he clears his COVID-19 screening. That means he’ll be in the building next week if all goes well.

The Chiefs have dealt with a number of injuries along the offensive line this season. They currently have two starters on injured reserve in Kelechi Osemele and Mitchell Schwartz. They also lost Laurent Duvernay-Tardif and Lucas Niang when both players opted out of the 2020 NFL season.

With Mike Remmers expected to take over for Schwartz as the new starting right tackle, the Chiefs find themselves in need of interior depth. That has opened the perfect opportunity for the return of Wisniewski. He has the ability to serve as depth and can start in a pinch at any of the three interior offensive line positions.

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Chiefs to host free agent OL Stefen Wisniewski on a visit

The Chiefs could turn to a familiar face to shore up depth on the offensive line.

The Kansas City Chiefs could be seeking a reunion with a pivotal piece from their Super Bowl LIV championship run.

According to the NFL’s official transaction report, free-agent offensive lineman OL Stefen Wisniewski will be in Kansas City for a visit with his former team. Wisniewski left the Chiefs in free agency following the 2019 NFL season, signing with his hometown team, the Pittsburgh Steelers. In Week 1, Wisniewski suffered a pectoral injury that landed him on injured reserve. He eventually returned to the Steelers 53-man roster but was waived to make room for LB Avery Williamson following the NFL’s trade deadline.

Wisniewski joined the Chiefs in 2019 following the first five weeks of the season. He was a crucial depth player throughout the year with injuries to Andrew Wylie and Martinas Rankin. He ultimately started the last two games of the regular season at left guard. He would go on to start at left guard through the playoffs and Super Bowl LIV, helping to anchor what became one of the best offensive lines in the league.

With injuries along the offensive line, a reunion with Wisniewski makes perfect sense assuming he has fully recovered from his pec injury. He has the versatility to play any three of the interior offensive line positions. He already knows the system so he could plug in and play almost immediately without missing a beat.

If he does end up re-signing with Kansas City, he’ll need to go through COVID-19 screening. That means the earliest that we could possibly see him rostered would be next week. It’s also possible that he starts off on the practice squad with the flexibility teams have to sign veteran players there this season.

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Report: Steelers Pro Bowl G David DeCastro out vs. Giants

It’s been reported that guard David DeCastro will not play Monday night versus the New York Giants.

Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports Steelers guard David DeCastro is not expected to play Monday night versus the New York Giants.

DeCastro is dealing with an undisclosed injury suffered during an August 28 simulated game practice.

Playing in DeCastro’s place will be veteran guard/center Stefen Wisniewski. The Pittsburgh-area native signed with the Steelers in March fresh off a Super Bowl win with the Kansas City Chiefs.

The 10-year offensive lineman, who spent time with the Raiders and Jaguars, also won a Super Bowl with the Philadelphia Eagles in 2018.

We’re still awaiting official word from the Steelers but it doesn’t look promising for DeCastro. Next man up.

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Steelers G Stefen Wisniewski says he’s embracing his role as a backup

Stefen Wisniewski says he’s ok with being a backup lineman.

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When the Pittsburgh Steelers signed guard Stefen Wisniewski as a free agent this offseason, most assumed he would be the frontrunner for the starting left guard spot. The spot vacated when veteran Ramon Foster chose to retire.

But the Steelers had other plans. Pittsburgh’s plans involved moving starting right tackle Matt Feiler to left guard and letting Zach Banner and Chuks Okorafor battle it out to start at right tackle. This leaves Wisniewski working as the backup guard and center. A role he claims to be fine with.

Wisniewski makes the case that he is confident in his skills as a starter despite the fact Feiler is getting the nod over him. The reality is the Steelers can never have enough quality offensive linemen. One injury to a player like Maurkice Pouncey and David DeCastro and Pittsburgh will be glad to have an experienced guy like Wisniewski to fill in.

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Pittsburgh Steelers offensive line ranking entering the 2020 season

Here’s a look at where PFF ranks the Steelers heading into the upcoming season.

The Steelers offensive line has been in the league’s top 10 for several years running, thanks to a limit on its moving parts. Unfortunately, they lost veteran guard Ramon Foster to retirement in the offseason. He had been slipping in productivity and was likely going to be released anyway. Nevertheless, the change will require a little shuffling.

Pro Football Focus recently ranked all 32 units entering the 2020 season and projected Pittsburgh at No. 9. PFF cites mainstays Alejandro Villanueva, David DeCastro and Maurkice Pouncey as reasons for their top 10 ranking. They duly noted that run blocking was an issue in 2019, and predict that rookie guard Kevin Dotson as one to keep an eye on to eventually replace Foster.

The Steelers signed Stefen Wisniewski — fresh off the Kansas City Chiefs Super Bowl team — in free agency. Wisniewski has been around the block a few times, and his experience will be valuable given the limited time the rookies will have in practices and preseason action this year.

If the Steelers can improve on their run blocking this season, I believe it’ll bump the o-line up a few spots.

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Super Bowl-winning guard Stefen Wisniewski is ‘excited to get started’ with the Steelers

Guard Stefen Wisniewski, who signed with the Steelers via free agency in March, is hard at work preparing for the season.

From rookies to veterans, Steelers players are doing what they can to keep in football shape. Typically, OTAs would be starting up next week in Pittsburgh; instead, the league has extended its virtual offseason through June 26.

This is a challenging time, especially for players new to the Steelers. The lack of hands-on work with coaches and teammates makes it difficult to acclimate to the system.

It hasn’t deterred guard Stefen Wisniewski. Fresh off a Kansas City Chiefs Super Bowl win, the Pittsburgh native signed with the Steelers via free agency in March.

“I have been going to a local park and doing some running for conditioning,” Wisniewski said in an interview with Teresa Varley at Steelers.com. “I am doing some football drills by myself too. I am going through the plays, what the Steelers call, what I need to do on that play. But I don’t have anybody to block, so I am just blocking air. It’s not quite the same as blocking a 300 plus defensive lineman, but it’s good to get some muscle memory and brain repetition, just going through some of the plays.”

While he’s a Steelers newbie, Wisniewski is at an advantage entering his 10th year in the league.

“I have been in a lot of different offenses,” said Wisniewski. “I have had five or six offensive coordinators in nine years. At the end of the day, we all run the same plays. It’s a matter of what you call it, how you do the little things differently. I am learning what the Steelers call it, and I will be ready to go.”

With the retirement of Ramon Foster and reserve B.J. Finney departing for the Seattle Seahawks, the Steelers didn’t waste any time bringing in a player to compete at guard. The team also drafted guard Kevin Dotson in April, and Matt Feiler, who has played at tackle the past two seasons, has some experience there as well. Nothing brings out the best in a player than competition.

“I am excited to get started,” said Wisniewski. “All I control is I am working hard, lifting weights, getting in good shape, learning the plays. Whenever we do go back, I know I will be ready to go. I will be ready to go at full speed.”

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Steelers OC Randy Fichtner needs to show commitment to run game

A solid plan for the Pittsburgh Steelers run game will be necessary with quarterback Ben Roethlisberger returning from injury.

Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, 38, is coming off an elbow injury that abruptly ended his season Week 2 of the 2019 season. The operation on the elbow of his throwing arm involved reattaching three flexor tendons.

It’ll be in the Steelers best interest to bring Roethlisberger along slowly. Even though he’s said that he’s throwing without pain, it would be foolish to expect a return to the 42 attempts per-game from 2018. On average, Roethlisberger has thrown 36 times per game since 2014.

“Being so, so focused on passing the ball has never been a path to success for the Steelers or really anybody else,” said Aditi Kinkhabwala, Steelers reporter for NFL Network, on Around the NFL. “Look at what the Titans did a year ago or the 49ers — you need a run game.”

Tennessee and San Fransisco were both balanced offensively in 2019. The Titans pass-to-run plays ratio was 448/445, and the 49ers was 478/498. Contrastingly, the Steelers had 510 pass attempts to 395 run attempts.

“Since the Steelers changed offensive coordinators from Todd Haley to Randy Fichtner, they haven’t shown much propensity to want to run the ball,” said Kinkhabwala, who has been covering the Steelers since 2012.

Fichtner comes from a passing-game mindset — his career has been spent focusing on QBs and wide receivers. Since he arrived in Pittsburgh in 2007, he’s been instrumental in the development of Santonio Holmes, Mike Wallace, Emmanuel Sanders, and Antonio Brown. So, it’s no surprise that Fichtner favors passing the ball to running it. But if the Steelers want Roethlisberger to remain effective in whatever time he has left with the team, they’d be wise to incorporate more rush attempts into the game plan.

The performance of the run game is obviously dependent on the performance of the offensive line, and last season the Steelers’ line simply didn’t play at the same level it did in 2018. The unit dropped eight spots from first to nine in the Pro Football Focus offensive line rankings.

Now-retired guard Ramon Foster accounted for 317 run plays in 2019 with a PFF grade of 52. Stefen Wisniewski, a free-agency signing this offseason, will likely start at guard this season. The most snap counts Wisniewski has taken since his rookie season (with the Oakland Raiders) was in 2017 with the Philadelphia Eagles when he was involved in 388 run plays with a PFF grade of 70.

While the level of involvement from fullback Derek Watt remains to be seen, the roster addition should help bolster the run game. In Watt’s last season in Los Angeles, he was part of 72 run plays with a blocking grade of 58.

Roethlisberger had a career year in 2018, as did his offensive line. If the line can return to ’18 form, it should speak volumes for running back James Conner, who put up his best numbers that same season.

But first, Fichtner has to make more of a commitment to integrating the diverse group of backs he has at his disposal.

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Steelers OL Stefen Wisniewski looks to compete for a starting spot

Do the Steelers have their starting left guard?

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After the sudden retirement of offensive guard Ramon Foster, the Pittsburgh Steelers found themselves in desperate need of a starting guard. But it’s fine because all they had to do was re-sign B.J. Finney, right? Wrong. Finney left to sign with the Seattle Seahawks.

But the Steelers didn’t just sit around and wonder what would happen next. They went out and brought a local player back home when they signed Stefen Wisniewski. Wisniewski brings a tremendous amount of experience to the position and should compete for a starting spot. And according to Wisniewski, this was what Pittsburgh told him when they brought him in.

If Wisniewski can plug in at left guard in place of Foster, it gives the Steelers have so much more freedom with the right tackle spot. Instead of contemplating moving Matt Feiler inside and leaving the right tackle spot open to a competition between Chuks Okorafor and Zach Banner.

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Stefen Wisniewski officially signs with the Steelers

The Pittsburgh Steelers officially signed guard Stefen Wisniewski.

The Steelers made it official with guard Stefen Wisniewski on Wednesday.

According to Spotrac, Wisniewski signed a two-year, $2.85 million contract. It included a $375,000 signing bonus, $375,000 guaranteed, and an average annual salary of $1.425 million. Wisniewski will earn a base salary of $1.05 million and a signing bonus of $375,000 while carrying a cap hit of $1.237 million and a dead cap value of $375,000.

A starter with both the Philadelphia Eagles and the Kansas City Chiefs, the two-time Super Bowl-winning guard will fill the void vacated by Ramon Foster’s retirement.

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New Steelers OL Stefen Wisniewski shares quarantine birthday party pic

Stefen Wisniewski shares this great pic of his birthday party.

During these trying times, you have to have a sense of humor. This is why we really appreciate this post from Pittsburgh Steelers offensive lineman Stefen Wisniewski. Sunday was his birthday but thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic and social distancing he didn’t have much of a turnout for his party.

The Steelers signed Wisniewski last week to fill the void left by the sudden retirement of Ramon Foster. Wisniewski turned 31 on Sunday but is playing some of his best football. And we hope, despite his lack of partygoers, he still had a very happy birthday.

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