What's Next for Steelers Defense After Loss of Keisel?

It wasn’t enough that the Pittsburgh Steelers lost a heartbreaker to the New Orleans Saints on Sunday 35-32. To pile on further, the Steelers lost veteran defensive lineman Brett Keisel to a triceps injury as well.

During the game, the severity of the injury wasn't clear. All anyone watching knew was that Keisel would not be returning to the game. However, Scott Brown of ESPN reported after the game that, per Keisel’s teammate, linebacker James Harrison, all was not well:

"

There it is. James Harrison says Keisel out for rest of the season.

— Scott Brown (@ScottBrown_ESPN) November 30, 2014"

This is truly unfortunate as Keisel had become an integral part of the Pittsburgh defense since his return back in August just a week before the start of the regular season. Once again, it is Brown who reported the return of the then 35-year-old defensive end.

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Keisel has done a solid job as a rotational player along the defensive line. According to Pro Football Focus (subscription required), Keisel went into Sunday’s game having played 418 total snaps. That works out to 60.7 percent of the total defensive snaps.

Not too shabby for a guy who turned 36 in September and was out of work the entire offseason. What Keisel brought to this defense extended well beyond any box scores or grades. His leadership was obvious on the field even if it didn’t always net flashy statistics.

So, what does the Pittsburgh defense do moving forward? With four games left to play, the margin for error is now down to zero. A loss next Sunday against the Cincinnati Bengals and the playoffs will become a fleeting memory.

Nevertheless, as much as we’d all like to take some time to let the finality of this injury soak in, the season moves forward. With the Bengals up next, what can the Steelers do from this point forward to help pick up what Keisel brought to the table?

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Obviously, that leadership mantle will have to be taken over by one of the other veterans on the roster. Whether that is defensive end Cameron Heyward or linebacker Lawrence Timmons, someone else needs to be that fixed point for the rest of the defense to rally around.

In terms of personnel, the Steelers have a couple of options moving forward. The Loss of Keisel almost certainly means an increase in reps for rookies Stephon Tuitt and Daniel McCullers. Both of these youngsters have flashed some real elite potential, and this could be a real positive for them to get valuable in-game experience.

Ideally, the Steelers could call on rookie defensive end Josh Mauro from the practice squad to step in and fill Keisel’s role. Unfortunately, Pittsburgh thought Mauro was safe on the practice squad, but it wasn’t meant to be. The Arizona Cardinals signed Mauro off the Steelers practice squad, as reported by Dale Lolley of the Observer-Reporter:

"

Arizona Cardinals have signed Josh Mauro off the #Steelers practice squad. Let the teeth gnashing begin

— Dale Lolley (@dlolleyor) November 14, 2014"

This is one of those losses that hurt when it happened, but it cripples now. Mauro has already started twice for Arizona and played very well in their 3-4.

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Sour grapes aside, the Steelers must work with what they have left. Aside from Tuitt and McCullers, the Steelers do have rookie defensive end Ethan Hemer on the practice squad who they could activate if they needed to.

However, assuming defensive tackle Steve McLendon is able to return next week, it will be Heyward, McLendon, Tuitt, McCullers and Cam Thomas as the defensive line rotation.

I wasn’t sure if Keisel would have returned for 2015, but this might have just sealed it. He will be missed, but this team needs to maintain its focus on the playoffs. That means these young players need to step up and prove they were worth their draft picks.