On Wednesday, the Pittsburgh Steelers announced that injured defensive lineman DeMarvin Leal has returned to practice while he remains on IR. This opens the 21-day window for Leal to be activated to the 53-man roster or else he would revert back to IR for the remainder of the season.
Leal suffered a meniscus injury in Week Five of the season which forced surgery and a trip to IR the following week. Leal getting back to practice this quickly certainly puts him on the short end of minimum recovery for a surgery like this.
In his first five NFL games, Leal showed steady improvement, even earning one start. Pittsburgh can always use another big, athletic guy on the defensive front, especially down the stretch of the season.
Among the players whose 21-day practice windows have been opened and could return soon:
— #Lions DE Romeo Okwara.
— #Lions WR DJ Chark.
— #Steelers DL DeMarvin Leal.
— #Falcons guard Jalen Mayfield.
—— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) November 16, 2022
