It isn't taking long for the Steelers' depth to be tested.
Fortunately for them, that test is coming at a position where they had experienced depth, but it will be a test nonetheless.
Pro Bowl right guard David DeCastro won't play in Monday night's regular season opener against the Giants at MetLife Stadium. That means veteran Stefen Wisniewski, signed in the offseason, will start in his place.
There are certainly worse situations. Wisniewski, after all, played the final game of the 2019 season, starting at guard in the Super Bowl for the Chiefs. That seemed to work out OK.
He's started more than 100 NFL games. But he's not DeCastro. Few are.
And given that the Steelers are breaking in a new right tackle in Zach Banner, the right side of the offensive line could be an issue in this game. It's a good thing, then, that the Steelers play a team such as the Giants.
New York had 36 sacks last season. Just 10 teams had fewer.
The Giants will surely throw the kitchen sink at the right side of that line, but their only proven pass rusher is outside linebacker Markus Golden, who had 10 sacks last season. Nobody else on the roster had more than 4.5.
DeCastro is dealing with a knee injury of some type, but it doesn't appear to be something that will keep him out long term. If that were the case, the Steelers would have placed him on injured reserve. Remember, teams have three-week injured reserve spots available to them this season.
The fact the Steelers haven't used that on DeCastro tells us he won't be out that long.
• It will be interesting to see who the Steelers bring up to put on their 55-man roster for the game. Teams have those two additional roster spots available to them as part of the new CBA this year and Mike Tomlin said he plans to use them.
As part of those rules, you have to have eight offensive linemen active, which the Steelers will certainly have since they are carrying nine on their 53-man roster.
I would guess that one of those spots will go to a wide receiver -- Deon Cain, perhaps -- since they're only carrying five on the active roster. The other? It could go to defensive lineman Henry Mondeaux if the Steelers plan to use him on special teams or perhaps Daniel McCullers if they think they'll need him to play a handful of snaps.
• Everyone is wondering how the Steelers defense can actually get better in 2020 than it was a year ago.
It's pretty simple, really.
Take a look at NFL.com's quarterback index heading into the season. The Steelers play 10 of their 16 games this season against quarterbacks who rank in the bottom 16 of the league.
They'll still have some tests. They play Lamar Jackson and the Ravens twice. They'll also face Deshaun Watson, Carson Wentz, Dak Prescott and Ryan Tannehill, but even those games should be manageable for this defense.
Oh, and they'll get Stephon Tuitt back.
How good was Tuitt in the first five games of 2019 before he tore his pectoral muscle? Consider that he finished fifth in sacks with 3.5 and tied for sixth in tackles for a loss last season despite missing more than half the year. His seven quarterback hits also were fifth on the team.
Tuitt is still just 27 and is a monster-in-waiting. And if he follows in the footsteps of Cam Heyward, this could be the year.
Heyward had been a good, not great, player in his first six seasons. And he missed more than half of that sixth season with a torn pectoral muscle, the same injury Tuitt had.
He broke out in 2017 at age 28 coming off that injury, recording a career-high 12 sacks and earning All-Pro status for the first time. He's been a Pro Bowl player in each of the three seasons since.
• A formation I expect the Steelers to use a few times against the Giants would include rookie receiver Chase Claypool on the field with tight ends Eric Ebron and Vance McDonald along with fullback Derek Watt and running back James Conner. It's something that has been talked about since the Steelers selected Claypool in the draft and signed Ebron in free agency.
How are you matching up with that if you're the Giants? You probably go to a goal-line package with so much beef on the field. After all, Conner at around 220 pounds, would be the smallest skill position player on the field.
If you don't go to a big package, the Steelers will simply run the ball against smaller players. If you go to the big package, the Steelers can throw it.
And yes, I expect Watt to be used more than Roosevelt Nix was employed offensively the past few years.
• The Steelers played their nickel defense about 51 percent of the time last season. They were in their base 3-4 29 percent of the time and the dime with six defensive backs on the field 17 percent.
I would expect to see even more of the dime this season.
When the Steelers talk about being a fast defense -- and they do -- it's that dime package that is the quickest, with Cam Sutton replacing inside linebacker Vince Williams.
It wouldn't surprise me, however, at some point if we don't see Sean Davis tried in that role. Remember, Davis, signed back earlier this week, has played some slot cornerback for the Steelers.
And that's essentially what that extra cornerback is. Sutton gives the Steelers another very good cover man on the field in those situations. But Davis would give them another big-bodied coverage guy capable of stepping out and covering a tight end or big wide receiver.