If there have been positions which have been dealt a bad hand this season due to injury, it would be as follows:

• Offensive Line
• Running Back
• Outside Linebacker

The offensive line has undergone a new starting five players every week. The running back position had to rely on a practice squad call up player and a player who was signed to the 53-man roster from the practice squad prior to this week. The outside linebacker position was already dealing with a key injury to Alex Highsmith, but the position took two more hits in the 20-17 loss to the Cowboys Sunday night.

During the game the Steelers lost both Nick Herbig (hamstring) and DeMarvin Leal (stinger) for the rest of the game. It left the team with Jeremiah Moon and T.J. Watt as their only outside linebackers to finish out the game. Certainly left a lot to be desired in many aspects.

The injury to Herbig might be labeled as a hamstring, but anyone who has suffered a pulled hamstring knows it can be an injury which takes weeks, plural, to fully recover. Even then, it’s an injury which can creep up quickly on the athlete and cause re-injury. Mike Tomlin didn’t elaborate on the injury in his post-game press conference, and will touch on that during his Tuesday press conference.

The injury to Leal was labeled as a stinger when he left the game, and Tomlin called it a “neck injury” after the game. Some view stingers as a part of playing the game, but there are times when they can be serious injuries. Ryan Watts suffered a “stinger” this preseason, and it landed him in a neck brace and on Injured Reserve, ending his season before it ever truly began.

While Leal could return to the team soon, it absolutely would be a hasty assumption to believe that is a given. Either way, the Steeles are now in dire straits at the outside linebacker position, and there isn’t anyone on the practice squad who has been “waiting in the wings”.

The offensive line is hopefully gelling, and the running back situation hopefully improves in Week 6, but the outside linebacker position is going to need help. Be prepared for a roster move/signing in the coming days, and we’ll have all that for you right at at SCN as the team now tries to break their losing streak with a win over the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 6.