Early bye weeks are usually a bad thing, but the Week 5 bye may be exactly what the Pittsburgh Steelers need. After getting off to a hot 3-1 start, the Steelers have a couple of notable players dealing with injuries.
Defensive back Jalen Ramsey is dealing with a hamstring injury, and wide receiver Calvin Austin III has a shoulder injury. Both are expected to miss multiple weeks, but the Week 5 bye will lessen the number of games the two key contributors miss.
While the bye week will be beneficial, Pittsburgh will likely still have to navigate being without Ramsey and Austin for a number of games. The bye week gives the team the perfect opportunity to decide how they want to attack their absences. Who will step up for the two starters while they are out?
Pittsburgh Steelers could be without Jalen Ramsey and Calvin Austin III after the bye week
For Austin, who’s currently third in receiving yards on the team with 139 and two touchdowns, his absence will provide an opportunity for Roman Wilson to step up and consistently contribute. Now in his second season, Wilson is healthy, appearing in all four games, but he has only been targeted twice, catching one pass for seven yards. While Austin, Pittsburgh’s No. 2 receiver, is sidelined, Wilson should have the chance to get his career rolling.
Temporarily replacing Ramsey will be a bigger challenge because of the star defender’s versatile skill set. Ramsey is a physical cover corner who loves inserting himself in the run game. That allows the Steelers to move him around the defense like a chess piece. What would help, though, is Joey Porter Jr. returning from injury.
Porter has been sidelined since sustaining a hamstring injury in Week 1. The young corner has been working his way back, but he wasn’t quite ready to take the field in Week 4. The bye week could help him make a return with the team in Week 6. If that happens, Pittsburgh would be able to lean on him and Darius Slay at corner, and Brandin Echols at nickel.