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Steelers Sign C/G Doug Legursky, Waive WR David Nelson

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The Steelers have signed former Steelers C/G Doug Legursky this morning. To make room for the signing, the team has placed WR David Nelson on the waived/injured list.

https://twitter.com/steelers/status/636153694908715008

The signing comes just the morning after Maurkice Pouncey had surgery to repair his broken ankle. Legursky started his career in 2008 as a UDFA and spent time on the Steelers practice squad. The following year he got a handful of reps across the line as a backup. He continued as a swing man across the middle until eventually replacing Maurkice Pouncey in the 2010 AFCCG and SuperBowl.

He was a free agent in 2013 and the Steelers didn’t re-sign him. He was signed by Buffalo, and was their starting left guard. Last year he was signed by the Chargers after their starting center fell to injury early in the season. Legursky only played a couple games before tearing his ACL which sidelined him for the year.

Legursky has battled with knee injuries the past couple seasons, and it wouldn’t be inaccurate to say he hasn’t exactly gotten better with age. As I said the other day, I expect the Steelers to roll with Cody Wallace at center, and if he goes down, then Legursky will be the next man up.

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Pouncey Reportedly Had Surgery This Afternoon

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The Steelers wasted no time getting injured center Maurkice Pouncey into surgery. According to ESPN’s Chris Mortenson, Pouncey had surgery to repair his broken ankle bone this afternoon.

While the specific details of his injury haven’t been disclosed, I postulated last night that his injury is a broken fibula. These are the most common ankle breaks due to the size and weakness of the bone. Coach Tomlin will undoubtedly update Pouncey’s status later in the week. As I said last night, I imagine the team will start the injured center on IR with the return designation. That would keep Pouncey out for at least 8 weeks.

I expect the team will roll with Cody Wallace, and will want to bring in another center who can step up in case Wallace goes down.

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Steelers Vs. Packers Snap Counts

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Here is the player participation data from yesterday’s game at Heinz field. As you can see from the charts below, most of the offensive starters were in for 23 plays. Chris Hubbard replaced the injured Maurkice Pouncey at center, where he played for the remainder of the game. Bruce Gradkowski returned to game action after sitting out the first two preseason games due to a shoulder injury, but left the game after suffering an injury to his left hand. Landry Jones took his place and remained for the rest of the game.

On the defensive side of the ball, the division of labor was well spread, and the unit registered 6 sacks on the day. Dan McCullers made his return to preseason action. Holliman and Hemer saw significant drops in their participation from the previous week. Recently signed LB L.J. Fort was in for 7 defensive plays. One of which he sacked the QB.

Offense

Pos. No. Player Total
C 74 Christopher Hubbard 51
RG 67 B.J. Finney 51
RT 78 Alejandro Villanueva 51
QB 3 Landry Jones 41
WR 10 Martavis Bryant 33
TE 81 Jesse James 31
WR 19 Shakim Phillips 30
WR 14 Sammie Coates 30
OT 64 Mitchell Van Dyk 26
OT 69 Kelvin Palmer 25
LG 65 Miles Dieffenbach 25
WR 16 Tyler Murphy 24
WR 84 Antonio Brown 23
LT 68 Kelvin Beachum 23
LG 73 Ramon Foster 23
RG 66 David DeCastro 23
RT 77 Marcus Gilbert 23
QB 7 Ben Roethlisberger 23
TE 83 Heath Miller 22
WR 11 Markus Wheaton 22
LG 72 Cody Wallace 21
FB 45 Roosevelt Nix 21
TE 89 Matt Spaeth 20
HB 49 Jawon Chisholm 20
HB 26 Le’Veon Bell 19
WR 88 Darrius Heyward-Bey 15
LG 54 Collin Rahrig 15
HB 40 Braylon Heard 15
HB 34 DeAngelo Williams 14
C 53 Maurkice Pouncey 13
FB 46 Will C. Johnson 13
QB 5 Bruce Gradkowski 10
TE 80 Ray Hamilton 9
HB 13 Dri Archer 8
WR 82 Kenzel Doe 1

Defense

Pos. No. Player Total
CB 41 Antwon Blake 40
ILB 57 Terence Garvin 40
OLB 48 Bud Dupree 35
ILB 51 Sean Spence 34
SS 29 Shamarko Thomas 34
OLB 49 Shayon Green 28
CB 25 Brandon Boykin 24
CB 39 B.W. Webb 23
RE 97 Cameron Heyward 22
ILB 50 Ryan Shazier 22
FS 23 Michael Mitchell 22
CB 28 Cortez Allen 22
CB 22 William Gay 22
SS 38 Ian Wild 21
FS 20 Will Allen 21
LE 91 Stephon Tuitt 20
CB 30 Kevin Fogg 19
FS 21 Robert Golden 18
LE 78 Leterrius Walton 17
OLB 55 Arthur Moats 14
OLB 95 Jarvis Jones 14
CB 24 Doran Grant 14
RE 65 Joe Kruger 13
RE 67 Dominique D. Davis 13
OLB 40 Anthony Chickillo 13
RE 62 Daniel McCullers 12
OLB 44 Howard Jones 12
FS 33 Alden Darby 12
LE 93 Cam Thomas 11
LE 69 Matt Conrath 10
FS 37 Jordan Dangerfield 10
RE 79 Ethan Hemer 8
OLB 92 James Harrison 8
ILB 54 L.J. Fort 7
FS 42 Jordan Sullen 7
FS 31 Gerod Holliman 7
NT 64 Mike Thornton 6
LE 61 Joe Okafor 4
NT 90 Steve McLendon 3
Mike Tomlin

[Audio] Mike Tomlin On Today’s Win And Injuries

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Coach Tomlin addressed the media after today’s win against the Green Bay Packers. He spoke about the injuries in today’s game and talked briefly about how the team played. Here is a transcript.

“It feels good to make the necessary plays, especially at home. The game was not perfect by any stretch. We stopped ourselves on offense early in the game and had a pre-snap penalty at midfield, but we overcame that. We also had an offensive pass interference penalty. Defensively, we warmed up to it, which we can’t afford to do. However, I thought they performed above the line once they settled in.

“Probably a significant element of the game that created adversity for us were those two turnovers, one late in the second quarter and the other early in the third quarter. We can’t have those happen. I think Green Bay got 10 points off of those turnovers and it created an atmosphere we had to overcome. Thankfully, we did. We had good energy and teamwork in the stadium today.

“On the injury front, Maurkice Pouncey has an ankle injury and we’ve evaluated it. It’s probably going to be surgical, but I don’t know the length of time he will be out. We will analyze that after he has the procedure done. Stephon Tuitt has an ankle injury, which appears to be just your classic ankle injury. He will be out a couple of weeks, or so. Also, Bruce Gradkowski had a finger injury. Other than that, we just had the normal bumps and bruises.

“I’m sure the next time we get together, I will be able to get you an update on the status of Pouncey. It’s part of the game and we don’t overanalyze it. It’s as much a part of the game as blocking or tackling. We will make the necessary adjustments and I expect the ball to keep rolling, because that’s the business we are in.”

Here is the audio:

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Maurkice Pouncey Needs Surgery, Has Broken Ankle

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Maurkice Pouncey was injured during today’s win over the Green Bay Packers. He hurt his left ankle late in the first quarter, and ultimately was carted to the lockers after being checked by trainers on the sideline.

https://twitter.com/JFowlerESPN/status/635552769471082496

Coach Tomlin gave an update on his condition in his press conference after the game, referring to his ankle as “surgical”, and saying that he didn’t have an idea of how long it will sideline him.

Tomlin said Tuitt’s ankle is much less severe. He sprained his ankle today, and Tomlin said he will likely be down for a couple of weeks.

Without knowing exactly what the actual injury is and what surgery he’ll have, it’s hard to say exactly how long he might be out. I’d expect the team will use the IR/return designation on Pouncey. I imagine Cody Wallace will fill his shoes until he is able to return.

Update- According to Ed Bouchette, Pouncey has a broken ankle bone. This could mean different things and have different implications depending the nature and location of the break. We’ll have to wait for more info before we can play doctor. Well, you know what I mean.

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Stephon Tuitt Leaves Game After Ankle Injury

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Not long after Maurkice Pouncey left the game with an apparent ankle injury, DE Stephon Tuitt has been taken to the lockers with a similar looking injury. He will not return to the game.

Tuitt was the victim of friendly fire when S Shamarko Thomas came in to make a tackle. Pouncey is receiving an MRI according to KDKA.

 

Maurkice-Pouncey

Maurkice Pouncey Leaves On Cart After Apparent Ankle Injury

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Maurkice Pouncey left the game late in the 1st quarter after suffering what appeared to be an injury to his left ankle. He was able to get to the sideline, but was later carted to the lockers. The team has ruled him out for the remainder of the game.

Pouncey was blocking ahead of Le’Veon Bell and had his ankle rolled up on. Hopefully Coach Tomlin will have some more info about his injury after the game. Cody Wallace has taken Pouncey’s place in the game.

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L.J. Fort Claimed Off Waivers, Zumwalt Waived

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The Steelers waived/injured LB Jordan Zumwalt today. Zumwalt has battled the injury bug since last summer. The former UCLA linebacker spent last season on injured reserve. With the open roster spot, the Steelers claimed linebacker L.J. Fort off of waivers from New England.

https://twitter.com/BobLabriola/status/634115766095364096

Fort debuted with the Cleveland Browns in 2012 and played in every game that season. Since then, the veteran linebacker has only seen action in one game, and has been with several different teams. The Patriots waived Fort on Tuesday. He was with the team for 2 weeks.

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Steelers Release QB Tajh Boyd, Sign WR Jarrod West

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The Steelers announce that they have released Tajh Boyd this morning. Rookie receiver Jarrod West has been signed.

https://twitter.com/SteelersPRBurt/status/633637103096737792

West had a tryout in camp last week, but the team signed WR David Nelson instead. Nelson injured his shoulder shortly after signing. He went undrafted out of Syracuse this year. The former Orange receiver is 6’3, 212 lbs. He caught 49 passes his last season for a total of 700 yards under 4 different quarterbacks.

Boyd didn’t play a single down during the first two preseason games. The Steelers activated Bruce Gradkowski last week, which meant Boyd’s days were limited. The former Clemson quarterback was drafted in the sixth round by the Jets in ’14, but cut during preseason last year.

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Steelers Activate Bruce Gradkowski From PUP List

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The Steelers have activated QB Bruce Gradkowski from the PUP list. As I reported earlier, the veteran QB said he would be returning to practice today, but there was no official word on his status. Steelers PR man Burt Lauten has confirmed it on Twitter.

https://twitter.com/SteelersPRBurt/status/632980142726496256

Gradkowski began camp on the PUP list with a shoulder injury. With his return, I expect we’ll see less a little less of Landry Jones against Green Bay next Sunday.