Pittsburgh Steelers: What injuries to Burress, Spaeth mean going forward
By Matt Shetler
As I illustrated in a column a couple of days ago, the Pittsburgh Steelers depth, or lack of depth to be more exact, is something to be very concerned about.
And that was before major injuries suffered by wide receiver Plaxico Burress and tight end Matt Spaeth.
Jul 27, 2013; Latrobe, PA, USA; Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Plaxico Burress (80) participates in drills during training camp at Saint Vincent College. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports
But now that both Burress and Spaeth will be missing significant time, what is next for the Steelers as they prepare to kick off their exhibition season Saturday night against the New York Giants?
In the terms of Burress, his shoulder surgery is likely a career ending surgery when you factor in his age and the little interest in him around the league the past two seasons.
But make no mistake about it; his absence will impact the Steelers in a big way.
Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger not only loses a potential red zone weapon, but an already thin wide receiver core just got a whole lot thinner.
The top four guys seem pretty set at this point in Antonio Brown, Emmanuel Sanders, rookie Markus Wheaton and Jerricho Cotchery. But who steps up after that?
It’s pretty clear that the Steelers expect big things from Wheaton and if he meets expectations then it softens the blow a little bit. But fellow rookie Justin Brown will now be given a bigger opportunity to crack the wide receiver rotation, as will names such as Reggie Dunn, David Gilreath, Kashif Moore, Derek Moye and J.D. Woods.
Another injury to a wide receiver and some of these guys may be forced into regular duty, which wasn’t exactly the plan coming into camp.
Then there’s the injury to Spaeth, which is equally as devastating.
With Spaeth joining starter Heath Miller on the injured list, the Steelers are super thin at tight end, which is a problem.
Miller and David Johnson have not been cleared to practice and with Spaeth joining them for the next 8-10 weeks; it leaves the position in the hands of David Paulson. Behind him are the likes of: Jamie McCoy, Nathan Overbay, Michael Palmer and Peter Tuitupou.
There’s a serious lack of both experience and talent at the tight end position, which is going to be a problem.
How do the Steelers fix these problems?
The likely scenario is that they don’t.
With the team right up against the salary cap, it’s not as if they can go out and sign someone that’s still available.
The most likely scenario is that Steelers’ general manager Kevin Colbert will have to be very active scanning the waiver wire in hopes of picking up a cheap veteran at each position just to get by for a little bit.
However the tight end and wide receiver positions aren’t the only ones where lack of depth is hurting the Steelers, as the cornerback position has been another one decimated by injuries early on.
Lack of depth is one thing that’s potentially going to hurt this Steelers team in the long run.
We are starting to see the effects already and the preseason has yet to begin.