Mark Kaboly of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review writes that the recent ankle injury Steelers C Maurkice Pouncey sustained will lead to the team placing him on injured reserve with the designation to return at the start the season.
This really shouldn’t come as a big surprise, but more of a confirmation of the team’s plans.
Pouncey sustained a broken left fibula near his ankle, and is expected to return some time after the Steelers’ Nov. 22 bye.
Steelers OC Todd Haley said that even with the loss of one of their best offensive linemen, they have no plans to change their offensive approach this season.
“Not really,” Haley said. “We might have had a few what we called ‘gadget plays’ that involved the center that we might not be able to get to that would’ve been a down-the-road thing anyway.”
Pittsburgh has already added some depth at center in the form of Doug Legursky, who has spent a number of years with the team.
Pouncey, 26, is in the second year of his six-year, $45.49 million contract that included a $13 million signing bonus. He stands to make base salaries of $1.75 million (205), $3.5 million (2016), $7.5 million (2017), $7 million(2018-2019) over the remainder of the contract.
In 2014, Pouncey appeared in all 16 games for the Steelers and was rated by Pro Football Focus as the No. 6 center out of 41 qualifying players.
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