Amid uncertainty regarding the health of two of their top three outside linebackers, the Pittsburgh Steelers are suddenly deprived of the exceptional depth they thought they had at the position.
To address that, the Steelers on Thursday brought back a player who served as their No. 4 outside linebacker last season. Jeremiah Moon was signed off the practice squad of the Carolina Panthers.
Because he is so familiar with the Steelers’ defensive scheme and playbook, Moon indicated he expects to play in Sunday’s game at the Detroit Lions.
“I remember everything,” Moon said of the defense. “Everything is like riding bike, I guess. Especially having coaches like (defensive line coach Karl Dunbar and outside linebackers coach Denzel Martin), they make it easy for the turnaround, the process, so I’m grateful to have coaches like them.”
That the Steelers acquired Moon signals they are not optimistic that T.J. Watt and/or Nick Herbig will not be cleared by Sunday. Watt is recovering from a lung injury that caused him to miss this past Sunday’s game. Herbig suffered a hamstring injury late in that victory against the Miami Dolphins and did not practice Wednesday.
Moon, 27, spent the 2024 season with the Steelers. The 6-foot-5, 247-pound Moon appeared in 13 games last season with one start. He played 111 of the Steelers’ defensive snaps but played twice as often on special teams — appearing in 63% of their special teams snaps in 2024.
But Moon suffered a calf injury during the first week of this past summer’s training camp and was waived/injured.
“Just a simple get-off drill,” Moon said. “I felt like somebody kicked me. I look back, obviously nobody’s there. And then there’s my calf.”
What followed was about two months of rehab. He joined the Panthers in October and appeared in one game for them as a practice-squad elevation. Moon on Thursday proclaimed himself back to full health.
“I feel great,” he said.
Undrafted in 2022, Moon spent two seasons with the Baltimore Ravens before the Steelers acquired him off waivers in January 2024.
In Thursday’s corresponding roster move, the Steelers released defensive tackle Brodric Martin-Rhodes. Signed off the practice squad of the Kansas City Chiefs on Nov. 6, Martin-Rhodes dressed for one game for the Steelers.