Kovacevic: Colbert needs to empty his wallet into the trench

Out the door went B.J. Finney and Rashaad Coward.

Right there, too, was Arthur Maulet, not long after Antoine Brooks.

Which meant that, once the Steelers had reduced their roster to the NFL-mandated 53 by the 4 p.m. Tuesday deadline, they'd managed to ... um, multiply the holes within their two never-ending main areas of need:

1. Offensive line
2. Mike Hilton 2.0

Here's the current roster:

STEELERS

Spot anything amiss up there?

How about only seven healthy offensive lineman, if one assumes Zach Banner won't be ready for the Bills in a dozen days, as is becoming increasingly safe with every passing day of missed practices?

Or how about only four corners?

I don't have much to add to this discussion that won't be insultingly obvious. Both positions have to be addressed. And not even just from the quantity standpoint but also the quality. It wouldn't otherwise be a workable roster, and I'm certain management feels likewise based on the aforementioned cuts that were made.

But I'll add this, and I'll do so in presumed ALL-CAPS, bold-face and mega-emojis round each character: Take care of the O-line first.

Look, I appreciate that Dan Moore's had a fine camp. He's improved as much as any player at any position, and that's to the inestimable credit of the kid himself, Adrian Klemm and all concerned. But Tuesday marked the second consecutive day he was lined up with the 1s at left tackle and, sorry, but I'm not inclined to task a fourth-round rookie with protecting the blind side of the Canton-bound franchise quarterback.

Not when this line's never played a collective snap in anger.

Not when it'd mean rookies make up 40% of this line, along with Kendrick Green.

Not when help's now available all over, with Kevin Colbert having the cap space to pull it off, possibly as much as $8 million per my math.

Find a starting tackle. Find another guard. Find a starting tackle and another guard. But prioritize one or both over the beloved blitzing slot corner concept, which is what I'm fearing might occur here. No, it's not ideal having Cam Sutton bouncing all over creation, even if he reiterated Tuesday, "It's not difficult at all. I have a great understanding of our defense." But with Sutton outside on the base, then inside on sub-packages with James Pierre taking his spot outside, there's at least a viable solution. And the same can't be spoken for the O-line situation.

This season's worthless without Ben Roethlisberger remaining vertical. There's one last chance to help ensure that, and it's got to come at any cost.

• No, I'm not worried about the T.J. Watt extension. I've covered countless contract negotiations, including some involving mega-money, and every single time that both parties hoped to consummate a deal, they did.

• If there's legit worry on the defensive front, it's that Stephon Tuitt still isn't participating. He hasn't been on the field this week as he continues to work indoors and, of course, stay in touch with family following the death of his brother, Richard Bartlett, in a hit-and-run near Atlanta in June. He's also dealing with an injury, Mike Tomlin confirmed, though he won't elaborate until next week, when the league requires injury reports.

The main man in Tuitt's place has been Chris Wormley, who was limited to 148 snaps last season because of injury but who's had a solid summer in all facets, not least of which is availability. Isaiah Buggs also has shown well, notably in the preseason finale last week in Charlotte, N.C.

I asked Wormley about the apparent D-line depth:

• Karl Dunbar, the D-line coach, spoke of Tuitt, "He's in all our meetings, and he should be out here sometimes," referring to the field before joking, "He doesn't come out here for walkthrough because I guess he doesn't want to see you guys. But he's in all the meetings, and he hangs out. I see him every day, so that's awesome."

• Finally on the D-line -- and football for the day -- but it's neat to see both Carlos Davis and Henry Mondeaux make the 53 after showing they could get the job done on special teams. Danny Smith's never been averse to utilizing size, but the big men obviously got to be able to move, and both did that. Of Davis in particular, his D-line mate Tyson Alualu glowed, "Dude's an athletic freak."

This group's gone under the radar this summer, it seems, and maybe that's not right. They'll be good beyond the starters, which matters a ton with Alualu and Cam Heyward on the wrong side of 30.

GETTY

Bryse Wilson reacts after a home run by Jose Abreu of the White Sox in the third inning Tuesday night in Chicago.

• Pitchers need to be protected. Pitch counts matter. I'm as much of a proponent as anyone on that front.

But when Bryse Wilson's at 69 pitches after giving up two soft singles to open the sixth inning, as was the case Tuesday night in Chicago, for crying out loud, how about giving the young guy a chance to work out of the jam?

Instead, Derek Shelton took the ball and handed it -- for maybe the billionth time this summer -- to 31-year-old stopgap Chasen Shreve.

It's not that Shreve allowed both runners to score, and it's definitely not that those runs were the difference in the 4-2 loss to the White Sox. That stuff barely matters anymore.

Rather, it's the rampant inconsistency in applying ... well, things that do matter.

Wilson should've mattered. He'd been tagged for two solo home runs, one of them an excuse-me poke by Jose Abreu, and the Pirates' own practice this season has been to cap players coming off injury -- Wilson was on the 10-day IL for arm fatigue three weeks ago -- to 75 pitches. He easily could've seen another batter or two.

Shelton's explanation afterward that he didn't want Wilson facing Yasmani Grandal because Grandal had taken him deep ... wow, no. That's exactly why Wilson should've faced him again.

Figure this out, gentlemen. Because this ain't it.

• All that said, pitching changes are but one component of what a manager does. Lineups are another. But give me a manager, every day and Sunday, who has the exemplary impact on fielding and other fundamentals that Shelton's had with the Pirates. The other stuff's grossly inflated by most. 

• In the Class A Greensboro Grasshoppers' past two games, Nick Gonzales, the Pirates' first-round pick in 2020 has five home runs and 15 RBIs.

Two.

Freaking.

Games.

And one of those was a walkoff grand slam Tuesday night over the hated Hudson Valley Renegades:

No complaints this time about Gonzales still being in A-ball. Greensboro's now a game and a half ahead of the pack in its division. Look at that scene up there. That's OK, too. Let 'em all get used to winning.

• It's September. Which means that sometime this month, someone will spill the first bucket of pucks at the Penguins' training camp. And it'll be good.

That said, enjoy the greatest player of her generation, Marie-Philip Poulin, doing what she does better than anyone, Tuesday night in Calgary:

Three championship-winning shots in an 11-year span for Canada, twice in the Olympics and now this one in the IIHF World Championships. Singularly spectacular.