Steelers likely to be without David DeCastro and Diontae Johnson vs. Giants
By Tommy Jaggi
The Pittsburgh Steelers already have some injuries that could alter their gameplan on Monday night. Here’s why David DeCastro and Diontae Johnson may not be suiting up.
The Steelers are one of the only teams in the NFL that were able to come out of training camp without any significant injuries. Unfortunately, it looks like they could be without two prominent starters for their Week 1 matchup against the New York Giants at MetLife Stadium.
Former All-Pro offensive guard, David DeCastro, has been dealing with a knee injury for the past week or so. While it’s not believed to be terribly serious, he has all but officially been ruled out of Monday night’s contest. Here’s what The Athletic’s Ed Bouchette had to say:
Five-time Pro Bowl G David DeCastro not expected to play against NY Giants and will be replaced by newcomer Stefen Wisniewski. That means Steelers will begin the season with 3 players at new positions on the O-line – maybe not a good thing for Ben's first game back.
— Gerry Dulac (@gerrydulac) September 8, 2020
In his imminent absence, it is expected that veteran newcomer Stefen Wisniewski will start in his place. The 31-year-old guard started just two games last year for the Super Bowl-winning Kansas City Chiefs, however, he’s earned 103 starts in a possible 134 NFL games thus far through his NFL career, according to Pro Football Reference.
But DeCastro isn’t the only Steelers starter who could be watching from the sideline. According to Brooke Pryor of ESPN, wide receiver, Diontae Johnson missed practice yesterday with a foot injury.
Not being able to log any sort of participation on the Thursday before a game usually isn’t a good sign, and his injury is cause for some concern. While it likely isn’t a serious issue, I would feel a lot better about Johnson’s chances this week if he was able to practice in a limited fashion.
How the Steelers will replace their starters if they can’t go
As I mentioned, Wisniewski is likely to start in DeCastro’s place at right guard in Week 1 against the Giants. New York has a few mammoths along their defensive line – including players like Dalvin Tomlinson, Dexter Lawrence, and Leonard Williams. It will be interesting to see if Pittsburgh can still muster up success on the ground without DeCastro.
At wide receiver, James Washington is expected to see a bulk of the action across from JuJu Smith-Schuster. Washington came on strong last year to lead all Steelers receivers with 735 yards.
In addition, rookie Chase Claypool could be thrust into the third wide receiver role much earlier than anyone expected. If Johnson can’t go, Claypool could see a lot of work in 11-personnel this week.
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While we won’t have the official injury report until game day, it’s not looking encouraging for the availability of DeCastro and Johnson on Monday Night Football. Though Johnson is more likely to suit up of the two players, the Steelers could be without both starters to open the season.