The Pittsburgh Steelers would seem to have been done a favor by the prolonged recovery that Mike Adams experienced following his back surgery in July. While it robbed them of the player that they at the time had pegged as their primary reserve swing tackle, having served in that role during his first three seasons while he was not in the starting lineup, it gave them an opportunity to get a good look at their tackle situation at a key moment that they otherwise would not have.
To begin with, Adams’ absence during training camp gave the Steelers ample opportunity to gain a proper evaluation of Alejandro Villanueva, a bit of an enigma as a 27-year-old first-year player with about as interesting a back story as you can find in the NFL.