Steelers C Maurkice Pouncey may play guard as Pittsburgh deals with a string of offensive line injuries. (US Presswire)

Get ready, Pittsburgh. This was the first-team offensive line for a large portion of Steelers practice Wednesday: LT Ramon Foster, LG Maurkice Pouncey, C Doug Legursky, RG John Malecki, RT Kelvin Beachum.

Odds are, it was a temporary situation, and, for a variety of reasons, things won't appear as dire come Sunday in Baltimore.

Already, with first-string RT Marcus Gilbert (knee) on IR and backup OT Mike Adams ruled out for the Ravens game after being injured in the loss to the Browns on Sunday. Also, starting LG Willie Colon did not play in Cleveland because of a knee injury.

Then Wednesday, starting LT Max Starks did not practice. The official injury report mentioned a back injury. But Starks said, "just a day off today. I'm an old guy, so I just wanted to rest my old bones."

That might be true -- but keep in mind that Colon similarly brushed off missing practice Friday. It seems unlikely that the Steelers, with so many offensive linemen already out, would give a starter one of their trademark "veteran's days" off. Thursday might provide some clarity.

So with no Starks and with rookie Beachum the only true tackle on the active roster, the Steelers moved Foster to tackle. The decision was made to keep Beachum at right tackle, likely in an effort to get him as many reps as possible. No matter what happens the rest of the week, Beachum is the man at right tackle in Baltimore.

With Colon unable to practice, coaches made a curious choice to move their All Pro center, Pouncey, one spot to his left. The rationale is that Pouncey is bigger and more athletic and more able to excel at the pulling the Steelers like to do than Legursky. Legursky, over the course of his career, has performed better at center than at guard.

"Whatever for the team," Pouncey said. "They asked me, and I said yes. We've had some injuries that have hurt us a little bit, but we've got to keep fighting. We've got to be professional about it, go out there each and everyday in practice."

Pouncey said that if Colon can't play Sunday, he will start at left guard and Legursky at center.

Foster has experience at tackle, so he was the natural choice to move there. Even if it disrupts the continuity at each of the five spots on the offensive line that much more, Foster is the obvious choice -- other than hoping Starks truly is healthy, of course.

"It's just a position flexibility right now," Foster said. "We need it and it's for the team, and I'm up for it."

It's possible that if Foster is forced to move to left tackle that first-round pick David DeCastro will make his NFL debut by starting at right guard. For now, Malecki is next on the depth chart. He was promoted to the active roster Monday when Gilbert was put on IR.

Malecki, an undrafted first-year player out of Pitt, has been in uniform for one career game -- last month at Cincinnati. He did not play, though.

As the week progresses, if the threat of Starks being unable to play becomes more real and Foster is needed at tackle, it's possible DeCastro could then start at guard.

DeCastro was put on the 53-man roster Monday after being out all season with an ankle injury suffered in training camp. It should be noted that he was not mentioned on the practice injury report Wednesday, signifying he is at full health. But with only a handful of training camp practices and four regular-season practices, it's likely the Steelers would prefer to give their talented guard of the future more time to settle in before throwing him into the proverbial fire.

"Whatever the coaches ask of me," said DeCastro, "they know what they are doing. Just getting back out there and being with the guys is one thing, but putting the pads back on and playing real football will be nice."

Follow Steelers reporter Chris Adamski on Twitter @CBSSteelers and @BuzzsawPGH.