Steelers Place Another Veteran Defender on IR

The Pittsburgh Steelers have placed another interior defensive lineman on the reserve/injured list.

Before heading to Paris for their Week 7 game against the New Orleans Saints at the Stade de France, the Steelers announced that Sebastian Joseph-Day has landed on IR.

Joseph-Day was listed as a non-participant on the first injury report of the week with a triceps injury, and now he'll be forced to miss at least four games while he's on the mend.

As a result, the earliest Joseph-Day will be eligible to play for Pittsburgh is in Week 12 against the Denver Broncos on Black Friday.

An eight-year NFL veteran out of Rutgers who won Super Bowl LVI with the Los Angeles Rams in 2021 alongside Jalen Ramsey, Joseph-Day signed a two-year deal worth $11 million with the Steelers this past offseason.

He had appeared in all six of the team's regular season games up to this point. Over that stretch, Joseph-Day recorded 10 tackles and a fumble recovery while playing 111 defensive snaps, which comes out to 29 percent of Pittsburgh's total defensive reps.

With Derrick Harmon already on IR due to a foot injury he suffered in Week 4, the Steelers are now down two key pieces along their defensive line.

Sep 27, 2026; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Pittsburgh Steelers defensive tackle Sebastian Joseph-Day (69) recovers a fumble during the fourth quarter against the Cincinnati Bengals at Acrisure Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Where Do Steelers Go from Here at DT?

With Harmon out the past two weeks, sixth-round pick Gabriel Rubio has been active and played a total of 27 defensive snaps over that span.

Keeanu Benton has seen a leap in his playing time too, eclipsing the 40-snap mark in each of the past three games after Harmon went down during the first half vs. the Cleveland Browns in Week 4.

The same can be said for Cameron Heyward, who has been on the field for a total of 138 snaps on defense from Weeks 4 through 6 after that number sat at 110 from Weeks 1 through 3.

With Joseph-Day now out for at least the next four games while Harmon will have to miss a minimum of two more, however, there's a bit of a hole along the interior of the defensive line for Pittsburgh for the time being.

Heyward and Benton will continue to bear the brunt of that workload while Yahya Black and Rubio play sizable roles next to them, particularly in run situations.

The Steelers will need another player to step up at the position, though, whether that's undrafted rookie Kevin Jobity Jr., who has been inactive all season up to this point while residing on the 53-man roster, or someone who is brought up from the practice squad, such as Esezi Otomewo or even Kyler Baugh.

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