The Steelers announced they have placed OT Zach Banner, DL Stephon Tuitt and RB Anthony McFarland on injured reserve to open the season.
We have placed OL Zach Banner, RB Anthony McFarland Jr. and DE Stephon Tuitt on the Reserve/Injured List.
We have also signed OL Rashaad Coward, OL B.J. Finney and CB Arthur Maulet to the 53-man roster.https://t.co/U5eKRCj0pT
— Pittsburgh Steelers (@steelers) September 1, 2021
Pittsburgh filled the open roster spots by re-signing OL Rashaad Coward, OL B.J. Finney and CB Arthur Maulet, who were released Tuesday.
Banner, Tuitt and McFarland will have to miss at least the first three games of the season before becoming eligible to return from IR. Tuitt hasn’t practiced this season due to a knee injury and Banner is still working back from a torn ACL in Week 1 last year.
Tuitt, 28, is a former second-round pick of the Steelers back in 2014. He’s in the fifth year of a six-year, $61 million contract that included an $11 million signing bonus.
The Steelers recently converted $7.925 million of Tuitt’s 2021 base salary into a signing bonus, which created $6.34 million of available cap space for Pittsburgh.
In 2020, Tuitt appeared in 15 games for the Steelers and recorded 45 tackles, 11 sacks, two forced fumbles and three pass deflections.
Banner, 27, is a former fourth-round pick by the Colts in the 2017 NFL Draft. Indianapolis cut him loose at the start of his rookie season and was claimed by the Browns.
Cleveland waived him in March of 2018 and was claimed by the Panthers, but cut during spring camp. He signed with the Steelers in August of 2018 and finished out his rookie contract in 2019. He re-signed as a restricted free agent in 2020 but played just one game due to injury.
Pittsburgh re-signed Banner to a two-year deal this past offseason.
In 2019, Banner appeared in 14 games for the Steelers and started once.
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