Time will tell whether the Steelers decision to cut Wesley Johnson will come back to haunt them the way cutting Kraig Urbik or letting Doug Legursky go did, but the first test will come today vs. the Colts.
Marcus Gilbert, by all accounts, will not suit up due to NFL concussion protocols. And that is as it should be. However, it leaves the Steelers in a bind, once again, at offensive tackle. Mike Adams will start in Gilbert’s place and Kelvin Beachum will stay in his normal spot at left tackle.
- Dan Rooney had better say an extra decade on his rosary beads in hopes that neither man gets hurt.
When Beachum went down briefly vs. the Texans, Maurkice Pouncey was set to move to left tackle with Cody Wallace taking over at center. That’s because the Steelers have no other offensive tackles on their roster, now that Johnson is gone.
- If the last several season have made anything clear, is that offensive line depth is necessity, not a luxury.
The Steelers of course found this out, again, the hard way on opening day 2013. They rolled the dice, and came up short, very short. Now they’re doing it again. Guy Whimper was available and could have been resigned. Ross Ventrone could have been cut, but perhaps Shamarko Thomas’ lingering injury prevented that.
Either way, the Steelers are left hoping lighting doesn’t strike in the same place it has – many times, in the past. The franchise has invested heavily in the draft to provide Ben Roethlisberger with quality protection, yet they still seem willing to gamble further down the depth chart.
