When is Malik Reed Coming Back?
By Tommy Jaggi
Malik Reed was absent against the Ravens with a back injury, but the veteran pass rusher is set to return to the field for the Pittsburgh Steelers soon.
Last week, veteran pass rusher, Malik Reed, popped up on the Steelers injury report with a back injury. Despite being a full participant in practice on Thursday and Friday last week, Reed apparently suffered a setback prior to suiting up against the Baltimore Ravens and was unable to play in Week 14.
Prior to this, Reed has been mostly healthy throughout his career with the Denver Broncos. Since joining the Steelers, the veteran never missed any time up until last week. As the Steelers were dealing with Reed’s back injury and a rib ailment for T.J. Watt, Pittsburgh attempted to sign former pass rusher, Ola Adeniyi.
The signing was all but finalized when ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported that Adeniyi had failed his physical. The fact that the Steelers were looking to add another body in the room either means that they wanted more depth for the banged-up players in this group or they were looking to upgrade their fourth edge defender — a move that likely would have forced Jamir Jones off the roster.
Latest Injury Update for Malik Reed
Despite being a surprise inactive against the Ravens last Sunday, Malik Reed was not listed on the official Steelers injury report to begin the week. Barring another setback, he’s expected to be on the field this week in Carolina as the Pittsburgh Steelers take on the Panthers.
Reed has been the primary backup to both T.J. Watt and Alex Highsmith since being traded to Pittsburgh before the deadline. He was even credited with 2 starts earlier in the season.
Sadly, the results haven’t been very favorable. Despite earning a combined 13.0 sacks over his last two seasons in Denver, Reed has just 1 sack on 244 pass-rush snaps this season, via ESPN stats. Injuries have led Reed to log 48 percent of the total defensive snaps for the Steelers this year — even with missing the game against Baltimore last week.
At this point in the season with just four games left, the fourth-year edge defender will be auditioning for a role either with the Steelers or a new team in 2023. If he proves his worth down the stretch, perhaps Pittsburgh brings him back for another year. If not, he’s almost certain to be gone in free agency this coming offseason. Reed will need to make the most of his snaps down the stretch.