The Pittsburgh Steelers made two roster moves today. One was expected, the other came as somewhat of a surprise.

The Steelers first move was to suspend Alameda Ta’amu for two games following Ta’amu’s arrest for drunk driving and fleeing police. While the move was expected, it did open the door to potential controversy.

After the Steelers shipped Santonio Holmes off to the New York Jets for his transgressions, they put the rest of the locker room on notice that anyone else who ran afoul of the law would be out.

A two game suspension is a real punishment, but pales in comparison to the threat of the waiver wire, especially when you consider that Ta’amu was basically a project.

Steelers Sign Lineman

Ta’amu had not dressed for a game, so he’ll hardly be missed this weekend vs. Cincinnati. However, the Steelers almost certainly will be without the services of Marcus Gilbert and Marukice Pouncey, both of whom were injured in the loss to Tennessee.

A roster move on the offensive line was widely expected, and still may materialize.

However, that has yet to happen, as the Steelers resigned defensive lineman Corbin Bryant.

Corbin Byrant played on the practice squad of the Steelers throughout 2011, but Bryant was activated when Aaron Smith went on IR, and he played in the Steelers victory over the Arizona Cardinals.

Byrant had a strong training camp, joining Steve McLendon, LaMarr Woodley, and Chris Carter as the only defenders to register a sack during preseason. It was a mild surprise that Bryant did not make the team’s practice squad.

The move to sign him to the active roster is somewhat puzzling, given that he takes the roster spot of a man who never dressed. But it also suggests, at least potentially, that Mike Tomlin is not happy with the performance of the defensive line in general, and might at least be interested in seeing what Bryant can do.

Practice Squad Moves

Possibly anticipating their next move, the Steelers signed Jaques McClendon to their practice squad, and waived 7th round pick Jamie McCoy to make room for him.

Observers have speculated that the Steelers will activate offensive lineman John Malecki from their practice squad for the Bengals game to shore up a unit at which they are dangerously thin.

Thanks for visiting.  Follow @SteelCurtainRis