With the Steelers taking a slew of young players into training camp, here are the veterans that could see their jobs taken by a rookie.
With the draft and undrafted pool of players settled for the Steelers, the talk now becomes who is in line to claim a roster spot and who isn’t. Veterans will try to defend their spots from these rookies as everyone being brought into camp are trying to stake their claim at a spot on the depth chart. Here are the four veterans in danger of losing their spots to rookies.
Zach Gentry
To say that Zach Gentry has little security to make the roster isn’t a long shot, but the style of player that the Steelers drafted in Pat Freiermuth makes Gentry’s odds even worse. Freiermuth is a prototypical complete tight end, as he can throw his weight around as a blocker and make competitive catches down the field. This is the same style of player that Gentry was supposed to be if he had completely developed. Unfortunately, he hasn’t developed really nor done much during his limited time on the roster.
While Freiermuth slotting in as the second-string tight end doesn’t push Gentry off the roster, it makes his odds that much worse. As of now, his main competition is Kevin Rader, who seems to be a better blocker and special teams contributor based on his limited play with the team so far. While Gentry may have the higher ceiling as a receiving threat (and even that may be a stretch), Rader can do the necessary dirty work of a third-string tight end. Had the Steelers no drafted a much better version of Gentry this season, the argument could be made for him to be kept. As of now though, it seems like his time with the team is coming to a close.
Isaiah Buggs
Isaiah Buggs is a player that has the love of a lot of Steelers nation but seems to be in the teams’ dog house based on how his 2020 went. He saw snaps as both a backup defensive end and a nose tackle, and while his pass rush wasn’t bad, his run-stopping issues were apparent. This led to him seeing less time in favor of then-rookie Carlos Davis and eventual practice squad call up Henry Mondeaux. His standing with the team only got worse when they selected Isaiahh Loudermilk in the fifth round of the draft.
While I personally am not high on Loudermilk’s game, the team felt comfortable enough to send a future fourth-round pick to acquire him. Fifth-round picks themselves are never locked to make the roster but having traded an asset to acquire him makes it seem like he is a safe roster bet. Davis, meanwhile, is the better option at nose tackle making him the likely next safest lineman. While Buggs is the better defender than Mondeaux, he lacks the special team’s value that Mondeaux has.
All of this to say, Buggs seems to be the eight-best option at a spot the team typically carries only six players at. Even if the Steelers carry seven as they did for much of last year, Loudermilk replaces Buggs in that scenario. Despite the early promise he showed in camps and in limited action, it seems like Buggs best chance to stay with the team is to wind up on the practice squad.
Justin Layne
Justin Layne has had about as bad of a 6-month stretch as any player on this roster. He got a pass his rookie season due to him being an extremely raw product and one that needed refinement as a coverage player, but last year was discouraging. It was expected that Layne would be the first player off the bench if injuries occurred to one of the starters, and he served in that role for the early portion of the season when he wasn’t really needed.
Then he started getting defensive snaps and getting regularly burnt in coverage. In only 12 targets, he gave up over 125 yards, a score, and a quarterback rating of nearly 140. Those numbers led to Antoine Brooks Jr. getting looks in sub-package plays and James Pierre leapfrogging him on the depth chart. Add in his guilty plea after an issue with the police this offseason and he has almost worked his way off the roster without anyone taking his spot.
His two saving graces are that he is a decent special teams’ player and the Steelers didn’t draft a natural cornerback in this previous draft. That said, with both Shakur Brown (a natural slot mind you) and Mark Gilbert both having strong traits as undrafted rookies, keeping them around in exchange for Layne makes sense. All signs point to him being on the roster or at best, buried on the depth chart and playing special teams early.
Vince Williams
I’ll be the first to say that of every name on this list, Vince Williams has the best odds of making the opening day roster. That said, his position with the team is the weakest it has ever been and there is a real chance he gets cut down once the team trims their roster. The team was willing to cut him to save cap space and the only reason he returned was due to him taking a minimum contract to return to the roster.
Had the depth chart been left alone, his spot on the team would be in better shape. But the team drafted Buddy Johnson in the fourth round, and the athletic run-stopper seems like a potential upgrade over Williams. Add in Robert Spillane having a role last season, and suddenly, Williams could be the fourth option on the depth chart.
Looking at the Steelers inside linebacker depth chart right now, one thing screams out: athleticism. Everyone has some degree of speed except Williams. This look fits the modern NFL well, and it is likely signaling that a changing of the guard is happing there for the team as they look for athletes instead of traditional thumpers. Williams is a great player when not asked to do much outside of his comfort zone, but the Steelers may opt for youth and speed at the position this season and going forward.
While all four names on this list have spent some time with the Steelers and have had varying degrees of success, their time on the roster is now greatly at risk. The addition of rookies has suddenly turned the pressure up, as they will be actively competing with these rookies to keep their role with the team. That said, football is a cruel business, and it seems likely that these four may be looking for a new team by the end of the summer.