The Pittsburgh Steelers appear set to activate outside linebacker Jeremiah Moon from the team’s injured reserve list.
Moon has been on the IR since the end of the preseason with a high ankle sprain in his right ankle. He is one of three Steelers players that are eligible to be activated from the injured reserve this week, along with tackle Dylan Cook and defensive lineman Logan Lee. Additionally, inside linebacker Cole Holcomb is eligible to be removed from the physically unable to perform list.
Head coach Mike Tomlin said on Tuesday that he expects one or more players from the IR and/or PUP list to return to practice.
“I hadn’t had those meetings yet, but probably,” Tomlin said during his weekly press conference at UPMC Rooney Sports Complex on Tuesday. “There’s a level of excitement there. We’ll see what their participation looks like and the quality of their participation and harden that up as we get closer to came time.”
Moon will be doing just that, as the team announced on Wednesday that he will be returning to practice this week. The Steelers will open a 21-day practice window for Moon on Wednesday. They can reinstate him to the 53-man active roster at any point in that window. If the window closes and Moon remains on the injured reserve list, he must stay there for the remainder of the 2024 season.
The Steelers are in need of additional depth at outside linebacker, with Alex Highsmith already ruled out of this week’s game against the Dallas Cowboys and Nick Herbig nursing an ankle injury.
A 6-foot-5, 247-pound outside linebacker, the Steelers claimed Moon off waivers from the Baltimore Ravens in January. He originally joined Baltimore in 2022 as an undrafted free agent out of Florida. He played in eight games with the Ravens last season and made one start, recording 12 tackles, one for a loss and forcing two fumbles.