One veteran defensive lineman returned to practice after an injury absence, but another has been deemed out for the season because of one for the Pittsburgh Steelers.
The team announced Sunday that Dean Lowry was restored to the active roster off the physically unable to perform list and that Breiden Fehoko was placed on injured reserve.
A nine-year veteran signed to a two-year free-agent deal in March, Lowry’s 2023 season ended prematurely for the Minnesota Vikings because of a pectoral injury. The Steelers placed him on PUP when training camp opened.
Fehoko is on his second one-year contract with the Steelers. Perhaps the Steelers’ most pure option as a nose tackle, he did not appear in any regular-season games last season. He spent the second half of last season on the practice squad.
The designation to IR at this point of camp means Fehoko cannot return this season.
2 added on defense
The Steelers made some additional roster moves on their defense, signing defensive lineman Marquiss Spencer and outside linebacker Luquay Washington while waiving inside linebacker Easton Gibbs.
A seventh-round pick of the Denver Broncos in 2021, Spencer played one regular-season game for the team as a rookie but has not appeared in an NFL regular-season game since. Spencer (6-4, 295) spent part of 2022 and all of last season on the New York Jets’ practice squad.
Washington (6-3, 230) was signed by the Kansas City Chiefs as an undrafted free agent out of Central Connecticut State. But the Chiefs released him three weeks ago.
Gibbs had just joined the team Wednesday. He played four snaps during Friday’s preseason game
Chris Adamski is a TribLive reporter who has covered primarily the Pittsburgh Steelers since 2014 following two seasons on the Penn State football beat. A Western Pennsylvania native, he joined the Trib in 2012 after spending a decade covering Pittsburgh sports for other outlets. He can be reached at cadamski@triblive.com.