The Steelers have placed Brett Keisel on injured reserve, according to Scott Brown of ESPN.com (via Twitter). To fill Keisel’s spot on the roster, the Steelers have signed fellow defensive end Clifton Geathers.
Keisel suffered a triceps injury during Sunday’s game against the Saints, ending his season prematurely. It’s an unfortunate outcome for Keisel and it could mean that he has played the final game of his career. Before re-signing with the Steelers in August, Keisel strongly considered retirement. In fact, Pittsburgh showed little to no interest in Keisel for much of the offseason and only gave him a call when Darnell Dockett went down with a season-ending ACL injury. Pro Football Focus’ advanced metrics (subscription required) ranked him as just the 36th-best 3-4 end out of 45 qualifiers in 2013 and he’s ranked 30th out of 48 eligible 3-4 bookends in 2014.
Geathers, who turns 27 later this month, signed with Washington in March after a 2013 season where he was rarely used as a traditional defensive end for the Eagles. Washington dropped Geathers on November 1st and he worked out for the rival Giants soon after. He did not get a contract offer from Big Blue but he has found an opportunity in Pittsburgh.