Unsurprisingly, the Pittsburgh Steelers made some trades on Saturday and those include some players who were brought from the practice squad to the team’s Active/Inactive list and another who was placed on the Reserves/Injured list.
The Steelers placed rookie defensive end, DeMarvin Leal, on the Reserves/Injured list on Saturday. Leal apparently suffered a knee injury on Friday as he was added to the injury report anyway. Leal, the Steelers’ third-round pick this year from Texas A&M, played in the team’s first five games. He recorded nine tackles in total, one for turnover, and had one pass defended on 96 total defensive plays.
Leal will need to miss at least the next four games. We should find out next week whether his knee injury ends the season or not.
Taking Leal’s place on the 53-man roster is cornerback Josh Jackson, who is expected to start Sunday against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as cornerbacks Cameron Sutton, Levi Wallace and Ahkello Witherspoon were sidelined with injuries. Jackson played 26 defensive plays in last Sunday’s away game on his way to a total of two tackles and a fumble recovery.
On Saturday, cornerback Quincy Wilson and tight end Elijah Riley were promoted from the practice squad. This is the second week Riley has been elevated and the second for Riley. He did not record any playing time last Sunday. He is needed this week because tight end Minkah Fitzpatrick was ruled out for Sunday’s game against the Buccaneers with a knee injury.
As for Wilson, he recently signed with the Steelers’ practice team. His promotion is also necessary because of all the injuries the Steelers have at the cornerback position this week. For his NFL career to date, Wilson has played in 32 games with 11 starts. He has recorded 62 total tackles, two interceptions and eight passes defended between 2017 and 2020. He also recovered a loose ball.
Riley and Wilson should return to the practice squad on Monday.
