Mike Tomlin loves December football, but it typically brings its fair share of bumps and bruises, as does any matchup with the Ravens.
In addition to Kenny Pickett leaving Sunday's 16-14 loss in the first quarter with a concussion, Chris Wormley left the game late in the third quarter with what appeared to be a significant knee injury, which Mike Tomlin confirmed at his Tuesday press conference at the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex.
Tomlin announced Tuesday that Wormley is set to have knee surgery, though he did not specify the severity of the damage sustained in the injury. However, Wormley was placed on injured reserve Wednesday morning, which ends his season.
Wormley put together a nice performance in 2022, and the folks at Pro Football Focus seem to agree by ranking him 18th out of 125 qualifying interior defensive linemen. A reeling Steelers' run defense definitely takes a hit with Wormley now sidelined.
"It’s significant, but each week, man, we look at the guys that are available to us and we put together schematics to highlight who's available," Tomlin said of Wormley's absence. "We work to minimize who's not, so this week won't be any different. We've had weeks where others are unavailable, and we've leaned more toward him, and so he's going to be unavailable and we're going to lean more toward others and their skill sets and what they might be able to provide us."
Wormley's loss is undoubtedly a huge blow to the Steelers' defensive line. Cam Heyward is playing at a high level, but he's an 11-year veteran and can't play every single snap, and Larry Ogunjobi has been playing through various injuries all season long, including toe, knee and back issues.
"It sucks losing a guy like that," Alex Highsmith said during Wednesday's early locker room session on the South Side. "He adds so much value to our defense, and so you hate to see him go down, especially with that type of injury. I just really feel for him because he's been a great part of our defense ever since he's been here. It really sucks. We know we've got capable guys to be able to come in and step up for him and stuff, but it definitely sucks losing a guy like that. We know whoever's in has got to live up to the standard."
There is a serious drop off after Wormley as Montravius Adams is ranked 104th and Tyson Alualu is ranked 124th. Isaiahh Loudermilk could get an opportunity if Wormley is out, but his reps have been wildly inconsistent in terms of quantity and quality. DeMarvin Leal could also get some looks inside as well.
Of course, this injury comes on a day where the Steelers rush defense surrendered 215 yards on the ground. Even so, losing Wormley only makes what's been an improved run defense worse. The Steelers entered Sunday's action with the seventh-best run defense in the NFL, giving up 107.5 rushing yards per game.
The Steelers announced Thursday morning their signing of DT Jonathan Marshall off the Jets' practice squad, a sixth-round pick out of Arkansas in 2021.
In addition, multiple reports the Steelers are reuniting with LB Ola Adeniyi, who was released by the Titans on Monday. However, the team has yet to officially announce this signing.
