The Steelers officially placed T.J. Watt on injured reserve Thursday, meaning the star pass-rusher will miss at least four games as he rehabs from his pectoral injury.
To take his place on the 53-man roster, the Steelers signed linebacker David Anenih off the Tennessee Titans’ practice squad.
Anenih, an undrafted free agent out of Houston, led the Titans in preseason sacks with 3. In 60 college games with the Cougars, Anenih (pronounced uh-ninny) accumulated 20.5 sacks and 31.5 tackles for loss.
“I would say I’m an athletic pass-rusher who can get off the ball with the best of them, turn the corner, real bendy,” Anenih described his playing style. “I would say my go-to is a chop, dip and rip [move].”
Oddly enough, the 6-foot-2, 245-pound Anenih is part of a revolving door between Pittsburgh and Nashville. With the Titans, he spent time with Bud Dupree, Ola Adeniyi and, most recently, Derrek Tuszka.
Now, the Steelers are going the other way and poaching a Titans pass-rusher, which likely speaks to the similarities in their 3-4 defenses, as well as what Tennessee coach Mike Vrabel values in his outside linebackers.
“I would say it’s a lot more coverage being played,” Anenih said of his role now, after playing as a 4-3 defensive end in college. “That’ll be the biggest difference.”
There’s no guarantee Anenih even dresses Sunday against New England, given how late to the game he is, but he was all smiles discussing how he’s trying to get up to speed midweek. He joked he might not leave the practice facility Thursday.
With Alex Highsmith, Malik Reed and Jamir Jones ahead of him on the depth chart, the Steelers could opt to promote Delontae Scott or even newly acquired veteran Ryan Anderson from the practice squad and make Anenih inactive.
Curiously, Anenih didn’t know of any interest in him from the Steelers during the predraft process, but they must like something about him to use a spot on their active roster. Dupree and company told him he’d enjoy his time with the Steelers, however long or involved it may be.
“It’s funny how the Tennessee-Pittsburgh things works out, but I definitely talked to Bud, talked to Ola, just about what it’s like here, the culture here,” Anenih said. “They just told me it’s a really good environment. Mike Tomlin is a great coach, and they told me I’m going to love it here.”
Replacing Watt will mostly fall to Highsmith and Reed, with Jones or Anenih eventually slotting in as the No. 3. None is the same caliber of player as Watt, and yet, the Steelers — at least in the short term — will ask each one to do his part rather than changing the way they play.
“We’ll see,” defensive captain Cam Heyward said. “You don’t want to play without a guy like [Watt], but guys have to step up. We’re not reinventing the wheel. We’re not going out there saying we have to change up our entire scheme. We just have to make sure we do our jobs.”
Harris upgraded
One day after being limited in practice, starting running back Najee Harris was listed as a full participant Thursday with his foot injury.
“I just want Najee to be healthy,” offensive coordinator Matt Canada said before practice. “Obviously, I want him to be good, and he said he’s good. We’ll see how he can practice today. We’re going to go out and see where he is, but obviously, he’s a big part of our offense. We want him here all season, and we’re going to make the right decisions to protect him from himself at times.”
Protecting Harris from himself could mean more complementary work for backup Jaylen Warren. On that front, Canada described the rookie as being “in deep water with big sharks” last week in Cincinnati, but he liked what he saw.
Other injuries
Beyond Harris, cornerback Levi Wallace (ankle) was also upgraded to a full participant and inside linebacker Robert Spillane (eye) did not have any setbacks after his full day Wednesday.
Starting center Mason Cole (ankle) remained limited for the second straight day but expressed nothing but optimism in his availability for Sunday against New England.
“I felt good today,” Cole said, adding he won’t need to wear any extra protection on his injured ankle.
Brian Batko: bbatko@post-gazette.com and Twitter @BrianBatko.
First Published: September 15, 2022, 2:59 p.m.
Updated: September 15, 2022, 3:22 p.m.
