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The Pittsburgh Steelers are so shorthanded at offensive guard that they may need to start their backup center (J.C. Hassenauer) at left guard against the Cincinnati Bengals on Monday.
That helps explain the move the team made this afternoon, when it signed third-year guard Danny Isidora (pronounced “Is-a-DOOR-a”) off the practice squad of the Kansas City Chiefs.
Isidora (6-foot-3, 306 pounds) was a fifth-round draft pick of the Minnesota Vikings in 2017 (No. 180 overall) out of the University of Miami. He spent two seasons in Minnesota (appearing in 21 games with three starts) before being traded to the Miami Dolphins in August 2019 for a conditional seventh-round draft choice.
Isidora, 26, started three games for Miami in 2019 before being placed on injured reserve in late September 2019 with a foot injury. Then he was released prior to the 2020 season. A few days later, Kansas City signed him to its practice squad. He appeared in one game for the Chiefs this season, and has been a “protected” member of Kansas City’s practice squad on several occasions this year.
Isidora has good size and athleticism (5.03 in the 40-yard dash), but has a reputation for inconsistent play. When he was coming out in the draft, Lance Zierlein of NFL.com wrote: “Isidora has enough talent to become a starter, but his issues holding up against power could derail those plans if he doesn’t address them.”
At the University of Miami, Isidora started the last 39 games of his college career and in 2016 he was named second-team All-ACC by the league’s coaches. In 2013, he missed the first ten games of the season with a foot injury.
Coming out of high school, the Weston, Florida native was a four-star recruit (according to ESPN), or a three-star recruit, if you prefer the rankings of Rivals and Scout). He chose the University of Miami over Florida State and Wisconsin.
Starting LG Matt Feiler on Injured Reserve
Pittsburgh created room on the roster for Isidora on Monday when it placed Matt Feiler (pectoral) on injured reserve. As such, Feiler isn’t eligible to return to the lineup until the postseason, for which the Steelers have already qualified, thanks to Miami’s loss to Kansas City on Sunday.
If you’re wondering why the Steelers didn’t reacquire offensive guard Stefen Wisniewski from Kansas City, it’s because the former Steeler (released on November 7th) is now on Kansas City’s active roster. When Wisniewski first signed with the Chiefs on November 24th it was as a member of the team’s practice squad.
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Steelers Streaks
During Sunday night’s 26-15 loss to the Buffalo Bills the Steelers had one long streak broken—and another extended.
When Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger was sacked by Bills outside linebacker Matt Milano, it was the first time in 275 pass attempts that Big Ben had been sacked.
Meanwhile, Tyson Alualu’s sack in the second quarter gave the Steelers defense a sack in 70 consecutive games, a new NFL record. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers held the previous record, 69 games, between 1999-2003.
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• Troy Polamalu’s Nephew Gets Diving Interception for USC
• Steelers Try Out Former ‘Troy Polamalu of FCS Football’