Steelers place Clark and Tuman on Injured Reserve

by cgolden on Nov 14, 2007 8:14 AM EST in News

Yesterday the question was asked by Blitzburgh if Chidi Iwouma should be brought back and the biggest road block in that move would be whose roster spot he would take. Well the roadblock is now moved as the Steelers have placed Ryan Clark and Jerame Tuman on injured reserve ending their seasons. Clark has the inflamed spleen that was discovered after the Denver game and Tuman has a disc problem in his back and hasn't played in three of the past four games. This move does hurt the depth in the secondary as Clark filled in at strong safety when Troy missed a game. Marvin Philip was signed from the practice squad to fill one of the open spots and the other spot currently remains open.

So the question now is who will fill the final roster spot? I doubt it will be someone `in house' because they could have already pulled one guy off the practice squad, so we very well could see Chidi return to the Steelers. It will also be interesting to see what the Steelers do with Clark after the season is over. He's in the second year of a four year deal and if Anthony Smith steps in and plays well, Clark might be considered expendable.

So who do you guys think will be the newest Steeler?

Update [2007-11-14 11:9:40 by cgolden]:: Chidi will have to wait some more as the Steelers have promoted Grant Mason from the practice squad to replace Clark. Mason was a 3rd round pick in 2004 by Tampa Bay, an intersting note considering Tomlin was the secondary coach during that season. Mason made a name for himself by being a special teams standout but did not play last season after being waived by the Saints last year. Former West Virginia safety Mike Lorello was added to the practice squad. He's been in the Steelers' camp each of the past two seasons. It'll be interesting to see if Mason is on kickoff coverage this weekend.

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according to PG

Marvin Philip was signed from the practice squad to fill one of those spots.

by schnifin on Nov 14, 2007 9:24 AM EST reply actions

lets hope

Hopefully Mason can stand out on special teams for us too cuz lord knows we need any help we can get in that area right now.

by steelersfan4life on Nov 14, 2007 1:20 PM EST reply actions

Interesting additions

I thought it was interesting that they added Philips and Mason. Mason is listed as a CB, but he played free safety all preseason. He was a third round pick with the Bucs when Tomlin was the secondary coach there, so maybe he knows something that others don't.

Remember, Philips had this team made until they traded a draft pick for A. Rossum on the final cutdown day. I guess it is good to have depth, but that also makes me think that the Steelers aren't that happy with their center guards situation.

Considering that the Colts just lost Dwight Freeney for the year, the team should feel fortunate that only Clark and Tuman have been put on IR this year. I'm as interested as anyone to see what the coverage teams will do this week against Washington.

by datruth4life on Nov 14, 2007 3:36 PM EST reply actions

datruth

Can you tell us about Phillip some? Can he play anything but center? Would he be trusted to play center and Mahan play a guard position if Simmons needed to be benched?

by Michael Bean on Nov 14, 2007 3:43 PM EST up reply actions

M. Philip

Blitzburgh, I haven't seen that much of M. Philips. I don't think he has ever played in a regular season game. The team had him playing center and guard in the preseason because they wanted versatility at that position. I remember he missed an assignment one time in the preseason while playing guard and almost got the QB killed.

With Chris K. getting more time, I have to think that Tomlin isn't happy at all with the play of Simmons. I also don't know much about Mason, but I believe he will be active and playing special teams this week. It makes me cringe seeing a stud like our young QB have to run around because of this weak OL.

Guys like A. Madison, Timmons, Kriewaldt, A. Harrison, Frazier,Carey Davis and Gay have to beat their blocks and go down the field and make plays. For many, that is their only job. I am very interested to see how this plays out.

by datruth4life on Nov 15, 2007 2:41 PM EST reply actions