The hidden reason Devlin Hodges will be important in 2020
By Edward Hunt
People are questioning whether Devlin Hodges will be on the Pittsburgh Steelers after training camp. Here is the reason he will be integral to the team in 2020.
Devlin Hodges was a relatively unknown player for the Pittsburgh Steelers a year ago at this time. He was a southern boy who had just made his first splash as a professional football player by winning a spot on the 90 man roster. Hodges had just unseated Hard Knocks star, Brogan Roback, for the fourth quarterback job.
The former Samford product flashed in the preseason as the Steelers quarterback but the Mason Rudolph was the signal-caller making headlines. After the preseason ended, Rudolph cemented himself as the Steelers number two quarterback behind Ben Roethlisberger.
When the Steelers had to trim their roster to 53, Devlin Hodges was an unemployed quarterback who may have had to start thinking about what his life’s work would be and the reality that his life’s work might not be playing in the NFL.
The dominoes started to fall…
The first surprise and step for Devlin Hodges was that Josh Dobbs was traded after the first game of the season to the Jacksonville Jaguars. Nick Foles got hurt and was going to be out for an extended period of time and that left the reigns to Gardner Minshew. The Jaguars needed another quarterback in the mix and so Dobbs was their guy.
That trade opened the door for Hodges to get on the practice squad and be the number three quarterback for the Steelers. It was unusual for the Steelers, but for the first time in a while, they only carried two quarterbacks and a third on the practice squad.