Steelers make key roster moves ahead of Week 2 matchup vs. Cleveland Browns

The Pittsburgh Steelers are preparing for their Week 2 rivalry matchup against the Cleveland Browns. The Browns were impressive in Week 1 in their dismantling of the Cincinnati Bengals. Now they’ll have to face the Steelers, a team that struggled mightily against a San Francisco team that looked among the league’s very best. Ahead of their Week 2 matchup vs. the Browns, the Pittsburgh Steelers made a couple of critical roster moves, releasing veteran corner Anthony Brown from the practice squad and officially placing defensive lineman Cam Heyward on injured reserve, according to Tom Pelissero of NFL Network.

Heyward underwent surgery on Thursday to repair the injured groin he suffered in the team’s season opener against the San Francisco 49ers. He’s expected to miss about eight weeks.

The Steelers likely will lean on several younger linemen to fill in for Cam Heyward as he recuperates. The group of players — Isaiahh Loudermilk, DeMarvin Leal and Keeanu Benton.

“The whole D-line is going to have to step up,” Loudermilk told reporters. “It’s not just one guy. Multiple guys will get more reps now. It’s definitely on all of us now.”

Pittsburgh used relatively high draft picks to select each of the three since 2021.

“You don’t usually draft linemen in a high round unless you are gonna get some playing time, so I expected some playing time,” Benton said. “I just didn’t know it was going to be this significant, this soon.”

Cam Heyward played only 14 defensive snaps during the Steelers 30-7 loss to the 49ers. He briefly tried to return, but quickly left the game.

The entire team had issues with the 49ers. But the defense, in particular, couldn’t stop Christian McCaffrey once Heyward left the game. McCaffrey rushed for 152 yards and a touchdown on 22 carries, Meanwhile, quarterback Brock Purdy returned for his first full game since tearing an elbow tendon in the NFC championship. The Steelers did sack Purdy three times, but he still had time to throw for two touchdowns.

Expect Cam Heyward to be back on the sidelines to support his teammates. If he can’t play, he can be a de facto coach to guide the younger players.

“Cam is not the type of guy that moves away from his teammates whether he’s participating or not,” Mike Tomlin said during his weekly press conference.

“Some of the intangible things, some of the things that you get day-to-day outside the white lines, we’ll still receive the benefit of that. But make no mistake, there’s enough for us to do replacing his tangible contributions, his play, his presence and so forth.”

The Steelers next play the Browns on Monday Night Football. And although their offense may not be as dynamic as the 49ers, it’s still a powerful group. Nick Chubb rushed for 104 yards and quarterback Deshaun Watson had a relatively clean game, with only one interception.

No doubt, Pittsburgh will miss Cam Heyward and all the experience he gleaned from playing 184 games. Plus, he’s a fixture on the field. The last time he missed a game because of injury was in 2016.

On3’s Suzanne Haliburton also contributed to this article.