This week the Pittsburgh Steelers could finally have offensive tackle Zach Banner back on the field. Head coach Mike Tomlin spoke to the media on Tuesday and indicated Banner is all the way back.
Tomlin wasn’t willing to commit to what Banner’s role would be on the team but he didn’t rule out some sort of offensive tackle rotation including Banner in addition to Dan Moore Jr. and Chuks Okorafor.
Banner was supposed to be the starting right tackle to start the season. Unfortunately, Banner wasn’t fully recovered from his torn ACL and was forced to start the season on the IR, designated to return. This pushed Chuks Okorafor to the right side and rookie Dan Moore Jr. became the team’s starting left tackle.
Worst-case scenario, Banner could temporarily return to his role as the team’s sixth offensive lineman and we could get No. 72 reporting eligible to help add some punch to the run game.
Eventually, we look for Banner to take over one of the starting tackle spots. Moore and Okorafor have both had their ups and downs so this week’s road divisional game against the Cleveland Browns could go a long way toward sorting out the division of labor and Tomlin often puts it.
