The Pittsburgh Steelers are hurting at outside linebacker. Star pass rusher T.J. Watt is sidelined after suffering a pneumothorax from a dry needling treatment. Nick Herbig may not be able to play on Sunday versus the Detroit Lions thanks to a hamstring injury.
To address the depth issues, the Steelers signed Jeremiah Moon from the Carolina Panthers’ practice squad. But fans noticed a much more accomplished pass rusher, Matthew Judon, was also available.
So, why didn’t the Steelers pursue Judon? Insider Mark Kaboly thinks Moon is a better option in case of more injuries.
“Moon was here all last year, and he was here in camp,” Kaboly said Friday on the PM Team on 93.7 The Fan. “My thought is they needed this guy to play immediately. There was no warming up to it. They may need this guy, depends on what happens, if Highsmith goes down, whatever, they may need him to play 50, 60 snaps. Judon would obviously be limited, never being in this system.”
In a vacuum, the difference between Jeremiah Moon and Matthew Judon is enormous. In three years, Moon has played in 22 games with two starts. He has 21 total tackles with one tackle for a loss and two forced fumbles.
Meanwhile, Judon is on his 10th NFL season and has more career sacks than Moon has games played. Judon has 72 career sacks to go with 429 total tackles and 95 tackles for a loss. He has also forced nine fumbles and recovered four.
So on paper, Matthew Judon is the better NFL player. That’s why some people are scratching their heads over this. Why would the Steelers bring back Jeremiah Moon rather than bring in Judon?
The phrase “bring back” is doing a lot of heavy lifting here, according to Kaboly. The Steelers, at times this season, had to throw players into the fire quite quickly. Safety Kyle Dugger played almost every single snap against the Indianapolis Colts despite barely practicing with the team. WR Adam Thielen played around half the snaps in his debut in a similar situation to Dugger.
So, why would the Steelers not do the same here? Either they feel like the outside linebackers have a tougher task than their wide receivers and safeties, or they just trust Jeremiah Moon and they could easily get him. They didn’t feel like there was anyone at wide receiver or safety that they felt the same way.
Hopefully, players stay healthy on Sunday so Moon doesn’t have to take on a major role. But if he does, Steelers fans will be watching very closely. They’ll also wait to see if and when Matthew Judon makes his debut with the Buffalo Bills after they signed him to their practice squad. Because if Judon goes on to make an impact, we all know fans will not be happy with the Steelers choosing Jeremiah Moon over Matthew Judon.
