The Steelers revamp their outside linebacker room and elevate a practice squad running back once again.
The Steelers announced a number of roster moves ahead of Sunday’s matchup against the Las Vegas Raiders. Per a team announcement, the team placed defensive lineman DeMarvin Leal on injured reserve and signed practice squad outside linebacker Ade Ogundeji to the 53-man roster.
Pittsburgh also elevated outside linebacker Eku Leota and running back Jonathan Ward to the active/inactive roster for the game. Leota and Ward will revert back to the practice squad after Sunday.
Leal’s injury has been reported as season-ending. Here’s what we wrote about his replacement, Ogundeji, when he first worked out for the Steelers in late August:
Ogundeji was selected by the Atlanta Falcons as a fifth-round pick in the 2021 NFL Draft out of Notre Dame. The 6’4, 268-pound defender has appeared in 32 career NFL games with 27 starts. He spent 2023 on injured reserve, but in 2022, he recorded 42 total tackles, two sacks, and three tackles for loss.
As for Leota, he signed with the Steelers’ practice squad in early October. Here’s what we wrote about him then:
Leota went undrafted in 2022 before signing with the Carolina Panthers. In his final season at Auburn, the 6’4, 257-pound defender recorded 17 total tackles and two sacks. At the NFL level, he’s appeared in 10 games with eight total tackles and one sack.
With the Steelers down Alex Higsmith, Nick Herbig and DeMarvin Leal ahead of Sunday, expect to see some of Ogundeji and Leota on the field as they split reps with Jeremiah Moon and Isaiahh Loudermilk opposite T.J. Watt.
At running back, Ward spent the summer with the Steelers and recorded two carries against the Dallas Cowboys last week as a practice squad elevation, with nine yards on the ground. With Najee Harris, Jaylen Warren, and Aaron Shampklin good to go against the Raiders, it’ll be interesting to see how the workload is split at running back.
Fighting the injury bug, the Steelers might have to rely on some newer faces against the Raiders.