Zach Banner on the 53-man roster but won’t likely start vs Seahawks

The Pittsburgh Steelers announced on Saturday the team had activated offensive tackle Zach Banner to the team’s 53-man roster to replace wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster who went on IR.

This means Banner will be available for Sunday’s game against the Seattle Seahawks. Coming into the season, Banner was set to start at right tackle before starting the season on IR. Banner suffered a knee injury early in the 2020 season and unfortunately wasn’t ready for the start of the season.

Eventually, we expect Banner to assume a starting spot on the offensive line. But it won’t be this week. Rookie left tackle Dan Moore Jr. has been very good at left tackle but Chuks Okorafor has been grossly inconsistent on the right side.

But for this week, don’t look for any major changes. The Steelers will have the bye week to sort out the starters before the brutal back end of the season. Having said that, Banner could reprise his role as everyone’s favorite sixth offensive lineman this week to help bolster the run game. We’ve all missed No. 72 reporting eligible.

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