Edge defender
The battle at edge defender for the Steelers is particularly interesting for me this training camp – more than it has been in years. With Bud Dupree gone, T.J. Watt and Alex Highsmith were the clear and obvious starters, while Cassius Marsh and Quincy Roche seemed destined to make the roster by default. That certainly doesn’t seem to be the case anymore.
After the team elected to sign former 3-time Pro Bowler, Melvin Ingram, the battle for positioning just got really interesting. While I still expect Highsmith to be listed as the starter, he’s going to have a very good veteran on his heels who is going to carve out significant playing time in 2021.
With the top three outside linebackers locked up, history tells us that there is likely just one spot leftover. This means that Mash and Roche are going to be fighting tooth and nail to stick on this roster in 2021 – along with a few young outsiders like Jamir Jones and Jamar Watson.
It will be interesting to see how much work Melvin Ingram gets with the first-team defense this training camp and who will win the race at the bottom of the roster for the fourth and final edge defender spot on the team.