Behind the Steel Curtain
After an embarrassing 26-7 loss to the Buffalo Bills last weekend in which the offense struggled to produce, the Steelers are responding by shaking up their wide receiver room. Aaron Rodgers will have one of his targets from his time in Green Bay back on the field with him on Sunday as the Steelers elevated wide receiver Marquez Valdes-Scantling to the active roster.
In addition to the move at receiver, the Steelers also elevated offensive tackle Dylan Cook. He could provide some depth behind Andrus Peat, who will continue to fill in for Broderick Jones. Cook could also offer versatility as the swing tackle for the offense with depth offensive tackle Calvin Anderson also ruled out.
Both will revert to the practice squad following the game.
Valdes-Scantling will finally get a helmet and an opportunity to make an impact for a Steelers offense that desperately needs help, after spending a little over a month on the practice squad. While I would temper expectations for the receiver’s production, the deployment of these receivers will be something to watch, especially if Adam Thielen is also active.
Last week against Buffalo, the only Pittsburgh receiver to catch a pass was DK Metcalf. The Steelers are perhaps hoping that Valdes-Scantling and Thielen are able to give them more of a spark than Calvin Austin III and Roman Wilson have been able to.
This is not to say that Valdes-Scantling and Thielen will be starting over Austin and Wilson, but there will certainly be a few tweaks to the offense for the Steelers as they try and take sole possession of first place in Baltimore.
