Without Kwon Alexander, the Pittsburgh Steelers will need to find another way to win.
Due to what head coach Mike Tomlin described as a “serious” left leg injury suffered in the first quarter of a 23-19
victory over Green Bay, the veteran inside linebacker’s season is probably gone.
Alexander, who signed a one-year contract with the Steelers in July and had flourished in Pittsburgh, went down as
he was dropping into coverage. Even though he was able to leave the field on his own, he was promptly tested in the
locker room and was declared ineligible.
Tomlin stated that although Alexander was under evaluation, the situation was “not promising.”
Elandon Roberts, Cole Holcomb, and the nine-year veteran had gotten along well, to the point that the three were
practically interchangeable.
Following a knee injury he suffered during a victory over Tennessee last week, Holcomb’s season came to an end.
With Alexander joining Holcomb on injured reserve, Pittsburgh will no longer have two of its top five tacklers
coming into Sunday. Alexander had the fifth-highest number of tackles on the squad (41), followed by Roberts (48)
and Holcomb (54).
With Roberts as their lone veteran inside linebacker, Pittsburgh (6-3) will now need to move on. With Alexander out,
Mark Robinson, a second-year player, played a bigger role and recorded three tackles against the Packers. Roberts,
on the other hand, will wear the green dot inside his helmet, which conveys the play call from defensive coordinator
Teryl Austin.
Roberts has worn the dot in his career during stints in Miami and New England. At a position that has essentially
been a revolving door for the Steelers since Ryan Shazier suffered a career-ending spinal injury near the end of the
2017 season, he now finds himself the older statesman.
During the past five years, a number of players have been added, including Devin Bush, Myles Jack, Jon Bostic, and
Mark Barron. Not one has persisted. After Alexander had a strong 2022 with the New York Jets, the Steelers decided
to take a chance on the charismatic and physical player, signing him to a three-year contract, and extending a two-
year contract to Roberts.
