John Leglue has been in the NFL since 2019, but it wasn’t until last Sunday in Cincinnati that he got to dress for his first NFL game. He had bounced between the Packers, Broncos and Saints for his first two NFL seasons, getting signed to Packers’ active roster once but never suiting up. Most of his NFL tenure, including this season with the Steelers, had been spent on practice squads, where players live week to week wondering what’s next in their careers.
So when he dressed again on Sunday against the Ravens at Heinz Field — a necessity with the Steelers offensive line riddled with injuries — Leglue knew he might finally get to live out his dream of playing in an NFL game. It finally happened in the first quarter, when B.J. Finney injured his back and Leglue went into the game at left guard.
“When I was signed to the 53, I definitely teared up,” Leglue said Monday morning. “It was a dream come true. A lot of hard work has been going into this.
“It’s a lifelong dream. As a kid, you always dream of playing in the NFL. To finally get that experience has been an unbelievable feeling.”
Steelers coach Mike Tomlin called Leglue’s performance “awesome” after the game. Leglue wasn’t a known commodity coming into the season, but Tomlin said they learned a lot about him during training camp when he stepped up with the line depleted by injuries.
“If you remember, we had some dog days in team development when we were running really, really low on offensive linemen in August,” Tomlin said. “There was a block of days when we were really low on offensive linemen, and Leglue had an opportunity learn and display position flexibility.
“That was a calling card. That was a place for him to hang his hat. And he’s been able to build from there and get better and take another opportunity due to someone else’s misfortune and prove he belongs. And that’s what this game and this business is all about.”
A native of Alexandria, La., Leglue stayed near home to play his college football at Tulane. With the Green Wave, he showed off the versatility that would one day make him an attractive prospect to NFL teams. He made 16 starts at tackle, 13 at guard and nine at center.
A recent spate of injuries led to Leglue (whose name is pronounced Le-Glue, “just like Elmer’s”) getting his opportunity with the Steelers. Starting left guard Kevin Dotson suffered a high ankle sprain against Detroit and has missed the past three games while on injured reserve. J.C. Hassenauer started the following week against the Chargers, but he injured his pectoral muscle in that game and also is on IR.
Finney started against the Bengals last week and against the Ravens before he was injured early in the game. With the Steelers playing Thursday night in Minnesota, Leglue likely can cross another career milestone off his checklist: making his first NFL start.
Leglue’s parents were able to make it to Cincinnati to watch him dress for his first NFL game, but they did not attend the Ravens game. They did get to spend a few moments with their son on the phone from the victorious locker room afterward.
“They told me they believed in me all along,” he said. “For everyone back home, coming from a small town, I’m happy to live out the dream and show everyone, through a lot of hard work, you can get to the places you want to go.”
Injury updates
Tomlin’s news conference was moved up a day due to the short week and he did not have a lot of new information on injuries. Finney was at the doctor on Monday morning and he mentioned cornerback Joe Haden was receiving treatment for his injured foot. Linebacker Robert Spillane was activated from the COVID list, but he is still dealing with a knee injury.
The Steelers released an estimated practice report on Monday because the team did not practice. Haden, Finney and Spillane were list as did not practice. Others with DNP designations included: Ben Roethlisberger (pec/shoulder), Chase Claypool (toe) and Isaiah Buggs (ankle).
Ray Fittipaldo: rfittipaldo@post-gazette.com and Twitter @rayfitt1.
First Published: December 6, 2021, 5:55 p.m.
Updated: December 6, 2021, 5:55 p.m.
