With Dupree out, Steelers will settle for OLB rotation
Carolina Panthers' Scott Simonson (80) tries to make a catch as Pittsburgh Steelers' Arthur Moats (55) defends in the first half of a preseason NFL football game in Charlotte, N.C., Thursday, Sept. 1, 2016. The pass was incomplete. (AP Photo/Mike McCarn)
PITTSBURGH – It might be a better rotation than what the Pirates are currently using, but it’s a rotation nonetheless for the Steelers at outside linebacker this season.
With second-year player Bud Dupree going on injured reserve Saturday with a sports hernia, the Steelers are left with three outside linebackers – James Harrison, Arthur Moats and Jarvis Jones – who have significant NFL experience and Anthony Chickillo, who got only 22 defensive snaps as a rookie in 2015.
The Steelers wanted to dump the rotation at the position in 2015 to limit the wear and tear on the 38-year-old Harrison, but with Dupree out, that won’t be possible.
“We’re going to play all four guys fluidly at the two spots,” head coach Mike Tomlin said Tuesday as the Steelers prepare for their regular season opener Monday night at Washington.
“We haven’t met yet and gotten into a division of labor, in terms of who will play when or how much. We have a great deal of confidence in the abilities of all four guys who are candidates at that position.”
Last season, Jones started 15 of the 16 games at right outside linebacker but split time with Harrison, who wound up playing 55 percent of the defensive snaps. On the left, Moats and Dupree split time as the starter and also saw their snaps evenly divided.
Jones and Moats will open as the starting duo this season, but how much of a rotation is used could depend upon Tomlin’s confidence in Chickillo.
A sixth-round draft pick last year, Chickillo had a strong opening to training camp in his rookie season before leveling off. He wound up being cut when the team finalized its roster for the opener and was brought back to the practice squad. The Steelers signed him off their practice squad at the end of September and he appeared in seven games, mostly on special teams.
Though he battled an ankle injury in the preseason, he recorded eight tackles, one sack and three quarterback pressures.
The Steelers also experimented a bit with flipping Jones to the left side and Moats to the right for more flexibility.
“Sometimes, guys want to get some rushes (on the other side),” said Jones, who is in a contract year after the Steelers declined to pick up his rookie option.
“It’s kind of the same thing. It’s not a lot different other than looking at the offense from a different side. I think we’ll be fine. We’ve got a good group and Coach (Joey) Porter has done a good job of coaching us.”
Porter said in training camp the Steelers wanted to move away from the rotational system at that position and allow Dupree and Jones, a pair of former first-round draft picks, to grow in those spots. Dupree had four sacks and Jones two last season as the outside linebackers combined for just 15 of the team’s 48 sacks.
Getting to the quarterback won’t be easy against the Redskins, no matter who is rushing. Only three NFL teams permitted fewer than Washington’s 27 sacks last season.
“We’re going to miss Bud but obviously he had to take care of himself and get this done,” Jones said. “He’s positive about it, although he wishes he could be out here. We’ve got a great group and we’ll be able to hold it down until he gets back.”
If that happens.
Tomlin said Tuesday Dupree would be a candidate for the Steelers’ one injured reserve with a designation to return spot but that won’t be known until a decision has been made regarding whether he requires surgery.
“These things sometimes get better with time,” Tomlin said. “Sometimes, you can manage them. Sometimes, they require a surgical repair of some kind. He is being evaluated here in the next couple of days in terms of what route we are going to take.
“We just want to get him healthy. Hopefully, he will be back in uniform for us in 2016 and be the core contributor to our efforts that he is capable of being.”
Tomlin said rookie Javon Hargrave’s knee injury suffered Monday in practice was not serious, though he said the nose tackle would be day-to-day. … Tomlin said fullback Roosevelt Nix (back), nose tackle Daniel McCullers (knee), defensive end Cameron Heyward (ankle), right tackle Marcus Gilbert (elbow), safety Shamarko Thomas (groin), wide receiver Markus Wheaton (shoulder) and center Cody Wallace (knee) also are day-to-day. But he is optimistic all will be available to play against Washington. … Rookie linebacker Tyler Matakevich and tight end David Johnson, who shared No. 46 in the preseason, have each changed numbers. Matakevich will wear No. 44, and Johnson, who wore 85 in his first stint with the Steelers, will wear No. 82.