Jarvis Jones Questionable For Steelers, Could Chris Carter See Playing Time?

Mandatory Credit: Jason Bridge-USA TODAY Sports

The Pittsburgh Steelers were going to be thin at outside linebacker during their final two games after they placed LaMarr Woodley on the Reserve/Injured List earlier this week. Unfortunately for defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau, rookie starter Jarvis Jones is now listed as questionable for their upcoming game according to a tweet from the team’s communications coordinator Burt Lauten:

While Jamaal Westerman could certainly be an option for the Steelers to turn to this afternoon, he has only been a member of the team for less than a week. Thus, his knowledge of the playbook and the defensive scheme is likely quite limited. Although Westerman could dress for depth purposes, a number, if not all of Jones’ reps would probably go to Chris Carter.

The third-year outside linebacker has been relegated to the bench or special teams duty for much of this season for the Steelers. In fact, the former Fresno State Bulldog has not seen any extensive work on the defensive side of the ball since he completely underwhelmed in place of James Harrison during the early stages of the 2012 campaign. Luckily for Carter, he could receive another shot to help his defense this afternoon if Jones is forced to sit with his undisclosed illness.

Carter will be an unrestricted free agent after the 2014 regular season, so it will be up to him to take advantage of as many opportunities as he can to play between now and March of 2015. The window of opportunity is shrinking by the day for Carter, an he could definitely help himself with a strong performance against the Green Bay Packers.

Stats & Contract Info. Provided By: ESPN.com, Steelers.com , Spotrac and Pro Football Reference

Follow on Twitter: @DominicDiTolla and @NicePickCowherC

Like “NPC” on Facebook: Nice Pick, Cowher