DENVER, CO - JANUARY 08: Ryan Clark #25 of the Pittsburgh Steelers yells from the side line during the AFC Wild Card Playoff game against the Denver Broncos at Sports Authority Field at Mile High on January 8, 2012 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Doug Pensinger/Getty Images)
Through Wednesday, the Steelers haven't made any roster changes, meaning, as of now, the Steelers intend to keep 10 defensive backs heading into Sunday's Week 2 game vs. the Jets.
With Ryan Clark's return to the lineup, it was thought a move could be made to release either veteran safety Will Allen or rookie S Robert Golden, but nothing on that front has been confirmed.
The Steelers also added cornerback DeMarcus Van Dyke before Week 1, and Van Dyke saw a few snaps on special teams in that game.
Van Dyke was added when the Steelers placed offensive guard David DeCastro on injured-reserve with a designation to return after Week 8. The Steelers have not confirmed where Van Dyke sits on the depth chart yet.
Those four, along with Ryan Mundy, Troy Polamalu, Ike Taylor, Keenan Lewis, Cortez Allen and Curtis Brown make up the Steelers' secondary.
There's no law against keeping 10 defensive backs (five safeties and five corners) but it's not typical.
The pending absence of linebackers James Harrison (knee) and Stevenson Sylvester (knee) could be part of the reason rookie Adrian Robinson made the roster in the first place, but now, considering the Van Dyke signing, it doesn't look like he's going anywhere. Robinson saw very limited snaps on special teams in Week 1.
Despite Steelers coach Mike Tomlin saying before Week 1 rookie running back Chris Rainey would be his return man, that did not happen. Antonio Brown returned punts and Emmanuel Sanders returned kicks.
Projected Inactives (as of Wednesday):
QB Charlie Batch, NT Alamed Ta'amu, RB Rashard Mendenhall, OL Kelvin Beachum, LB Stevenson Sylvester, either James Harrison or Adrian Robinson, either Robert Golden or DeMarcus Van Dyke
Offensive Depth Chart:
QB - Ben Roethlisberger, Byron Leftwich, Charlie Batch
RB - Rashard Mendenhall, Isaac Redman, Jonathan Dwyer, Chris Rainey, Baron Batch
FB - Will Johnson
WR1 - Mike Wallace, Emmanuel Sanders
WR2 - Antonio Brown, Jerricho Cotchery
TE - Heath Miller, Leonard Pope, David Paulson
LT - Max Starks, Mike Adams
LG - Willie Colon, Kelvin Beachum
C - Maurkice Pouncey, Doug Legursky
RG - Ramon Foster
RT - Marcus Gilbert, Adams
Defensive Depth Chart:
LDE - Ziggy Hood, Al Woods
NT - Casey Hampton, Steve McLendon, Alameda Ta'amu
RDE - Brett Keisel, Cameron Heyward
LOLB - LaMarr Woodley, Jason Worilds
LILB - Larry Foote, Stevenson Sylvester
RILB - Lawrence Timmons, Brandon Johnson
ROLB - James Harrison, Chris Carter, Adrian Robinson
LCB - Keenan Lewis, Cortez Allen, (DeMarcus Van Dyke)
SS - Troy Polamalu, Will Allen
FS - Ryan Clark, Ryan Mundy, Robert Golden
RCB - Ike Taylor, Curtis Brown, (DeMarcus Van Dyke)
Special Teams Dept Chart
P - Drew Butler
K - Shaun Suisham
LS - Greg Warren
PR - Brown
KR - Sanders
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