The Steelers will be without the fulcrum of their offensive line for the first half of the season, as the club has place center Maurkice Pouncey on injured reserve with a designation to return, according to Mark Kaboly of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review (Twitter link).
Pouncey suffered a broken fibula during the Steelers’ third preseason game, and is expected to miss 10 games in total. The first eight of those, by rule, will be spent on IR-DTR — Pittsburgh has a bye during Week 11, so Pouncey could potentially return during Week 12. Losing Pouncey will no doubt be a large to an offense that finished first in DVOA in 2014, as the 26-year-old graded as the league’s sixth-best center last season per Pro Football Focus (subscription required).
Cody Wallace is expected to step in as the the Steelers’ new starting center, but the club also added some extra depth today, signing Doug Legursky, per Kaboly. Legursky was originally signed just days after Pouncey’s injury, but was cut yesterday morning. Now, he’s back on the squad to act as the No. 2 center.