It wouldn’t be a surprise if PUP-listed Steelers offensive tackle Mike Adams doesn’t play a snap in 2015. Confirmation of that fate will come Monday if the fourth-year player doesn’t participate in the Steelers’ scheduled practice.

The NFL voted this policy regarding the PUP list in 2013 (parentheses added by writer):

Commencing on the day after the conclusion of the sixth regular season weekend (Tuesday, Oct. 20) and continuing through the day after the conclusion of the 11th regular season weekend (Tuesday, Nov. 24), clubs are permitted to begin practicing players on Reserve/Physically Unable to Perform for a period not to exceed 21 calendar days. Pads and helmets are permitted during the 21-day period. At any time during the 21-day practice period, or prior to 4:00 p.m., New York time, on the day after the conclusion of the 21-day period, clubs are permitted to restore such players on Reserve/Physically Unable to Perform to their Active/Inactive List.

Simply translated, Adams has been eligible to practice since Oct. 20, and the team is required to report that he practiced. They have not done so. The Steelers have a scheduled practice Monday after their bye weekend. The team has not, as of the time of publication, released a schedule of practice beyond Monday, but they don’t typically practice on Tuesdays during the season.

If he practices Monday (or Tuesday if the Steelers practice), he has 21 days to be activated to the Steelers’ active roster. After that 21-day period, he must be activated, waived or placed on back on reserve/PUP.

Adams was put on the PUP list at the start of training camp in July as he recovered from back surgery. The Steelers haven’t provided any update regarding Adams’s status, and it’s assumed he’s done for the year. Post Gazette reporter Ray Fittipaldo wrote recently Adams was “shelved for the season.”

Adams is a free agent in 2016, and considering his less-than-stellar track record through the first three years of his career, followed by the lack of playing time this year, it isn’t likely he’d fetch much of anything on the open market.

Considering the Steelers have little depth at the tackle position, and Kelvin Beachum (currently on injured reserve recovering from a torn ACL) also facing free agency, it wouldn’t be a shock to see the Steelers look to bring Adams back on a low-dollar contract. Alejandro Villanueva took over for the injured Beachum and has done well, considering his lack of experience.

Ultimately, the draft is likely where the Steelers would want to establish that depth, and the tackle position will likely be a position the team addresses early in the 2016 NFL Draft.