The Steelers don't know much right now regarding the status of their three defensive stars who are dealing with groin injuries -- T.J. Watt, Joe Haden and Devin Bush -- but they do have a much clearer picture of what's happening on their defensive line.
And it's not pretty.
Already missing Stephon Tuitt because of a knee issue that required surgery, the Steelers lost nose tackle Tyson Alualu in Sunday's 26-17 loss to the Raiders to a fractured ankle that required surgery on Monday and could sideline him the remainder of the season.
Alualu was placed on injured reserve Monday. Henry Mondeaux was signed off the practice squad to take his place.
That leaves All-Pro Cam Heyward as the lone remaining starter on the team's defensive line. Something that was considered a strength of the team -- its defensive front -- is now severely wounded.
"Losing Ty was something we had to adjust to. It took me a while to settle down, but he’s a heck of a player," Heyward admitted Sunday. "Injuries are a part of the game. It’s not something we can run from. That’s what practice is for. A guy is taking less reps — that’s giving reps to somebody else. Hopefully, we have guys that are able to step up. I gotta be harder on my guys. We gotta make the plays. Having a guy like Tyson or T.J., there’s like a blanket out there. We were already down Tuitt to start with. It’s gotta be a collective effort. It’s not one man to be Superman. The group has to pick up the slack."
The Steelers thought they had a pretty good group to begin with. But that depth is already being sorely tested.
Promising second-year pro Carlos Davis, who played 17 snaps in a season-opening win over the Bills, missed the game against the Raiders with a knee injury. He could return Sunday when the Steelers host the Bengals (1-1).
That would be a much-needed boost. With three defensive linemen out after Alualu left in the first quarter Sunday, the Steelers stuck with a rotation of Heyward and Chris Wormley, who is starting in place of Tuitt, Isaiah Buggs and rookie Isaiahh Loudermilk. But Buggs missed some time against the Raiders, as well, with an undisclosed injury, forcing Heyward to take some snaps at nose tackle, as well.
But the team is thin on 300-pound defenders -- no pun intended.
"I think it’s going to be a role by committee," Wormley said Monday of replacing Alualu at nose tackle. "A lot of guys are going to have to step up, myself included. We’ve got younger guys like Loudermilk and Carlos who we’re excited to get into the mix. Obviously, Buggs has been around a while and is going to have to step up, as well. We’re excited for the challenge. Whenever Tyson comes back, we’ll welcome him with open arms. Until then, it’s going to be a bigger load on a lot of the guys, myself included."
It was kind of what was envisioned in the offseason when the Steelers thought Alualu was signing with the Jaguars. He initially agreed to a deal in free agency with Jacksonville. But he tested positive for COVID-19 and couldn't fly to Jacksonville to sign the deal. In the meantime, Heyward and others kept working on the veteran to return to Pittsburgh instead.
Not knowing if that would happen, the Steelers re-signed Wormley, who was a free agent, as well, to a two-year, $4.5-million contract. But that deal wasn't made with the intent of replacing Alualu, who eventually reneged on his deal with the Jaguars to stay with the Steelers.
"I never thought I was going to be the nose tackle," said Wormley, who played the spot at times in his first three NFL seasons with the Ravens. "I kind of thought that was going to be Buggs’ position going forward, but when we re-signed Tyson, I was excited. He had a great season last year moving to nose and we were expecting him to continue that this year."
Whether that happens with Buggs now, or the spot goes to Davis remains to be seen, though Buggs is listed as Alualu's primary backup.
The Steelers feel Davis is the better pass rusher of the two, while Buggs stuffs the run better. So, who is playing that spot might be an opponent-specific plan.
"We have Carlos and Buggs there. Both guys can fill that role," Wormley said. "I can play up and down the line. But I’ll probably keep my spot with Tyson out for the foreseeable time and Tuitt out for a while, too."
The injuries also are wrecking havoc on the Steelers' ability to rush the passer with just four players, something they did with great success against the Bills, when they blitzed just once the entire game.
The four-man rush was effective in the first half against the Raiders, but the Steelers had to blitz more against Las Vegas as the game wore on and their players up front got more fatigued.
"They were setting their protect to the three-tech, the strength of our defense," Wormley said of Heyward, who was drawing plenty of attention. "Obviously, with those guys out, our pass rush lacked a little bit. But we’re excited for the challenge in the coming weeks. Hopefully, T.J. can come back sooner rather than later. I’m not too sure what his situation is like."
That is the expectation for Watt, who missed the second half against the Raiders. He could return as soon as this week. The same goes for Haden and Bush. The Steelers also dodged another injury with wide receiver Diontae Johnson, who injured his knee on the final play of the game. He could return to play this week against the Bengals.
Mike Tomlin is expected to update the statuses of all injured players at his weekly press conference, Tuesday at noon.
