The Steelers offensive line has been a patchwork job since the summer and the job got a little harder on Sunday.
Left guard Willie Colon was scratched just before the game, forcing Doug Legursky into the lineup. The depth was stretched even further when Mike Adams went down with an ankle injury.
That left them with Kelvin Beachum at right tackle and without many options in reserve with original right tackle Marcus Gilbert already out with his own ankle injury. We don’t yet know the status of either Colon or Adams, but the Steelers have shuffled their roster to leave themselves prepared to deal with his absence. Gilbert has been placed on injured reserve and the team has activated first-round pick David DeCastro from injured reserve.
DeCastro has been out since injuring his knee in the preseason, but he returned to practice last week and has been eligible to return from IR for a few weeks. He was expected to be the team’s right guard this season and could wind up back in that job with the versatile Ramon Foster plugging a hole elsewhere.
Gilbert has been out since Week Six. The 2011 second-round pick will be in the mix for a starting job again next season.
The Steelers also promoted offensive lineman John Malecki to the active roster and released wide receiver David Gilreath.