The Pittsburgh Steelers put up another disheartening performance against the Vikings this week. Here are four players who must be demoted immediately.
After a dismal first-half performance against the Minnesota Vikings on Thursday Night Football, it was remarkable that the Pittsburgh Steelers were even remotely close to a position to potentially mount the greatest comeback the NFL has ever seen. Sadly, their efforts were to no avail, and a 29-point deficit proved too big escape from.
While many players really turned things around in the second half in Week 14, others were dreadful throughout the game. Enough is enough. These players have had plenty of time to prove their value to the team, but they continue to fall short. Here are four players who should be demoted immediately:
Steelers LB Joe Schobert
Watching Joe Schobert this year, it’s almost hard to believe that this is the same linebacker who made the Pro Bowl for the Cleveland Browns back in 2017. Whether it’s taking poor angles to defend the run, getting stuck on blocks, or being late to react in coverage, Schobert has been incredibly underwhelming this season.
Part of the reason the team may not be so quick to give up on him is because of the massive contract the team traded for this past summer. According to Over the Cap, Schobert is due $9.7 million 2022 and over $11.2 million in both the 2023 and 2024 seasons.
Fortunately, it looks like the Steelers will be able to get out of his contract as early as next year. Schobert has been pitiful in the second half of the season, and the team needs to start exploring other options. The 28-year-old linebacker clearly isn’t the answer for this team in the future.
Steelers WR Chase Claypool
I don’t want the Steelers to give up on Chase Claypool altogether. However, I do feel that he could benefit in the long run from a temporary demotion on the depth chart.
Claypool made some mind-bogglingly poor decisions against the Minnesota Vikings on Thursday Night Football. It started with a retaliatory first down signal in which Claypool intentionally hit the helmet of a Vikings defender. However, his brain-dead choice at the end of the game was even more concerning.
As time ticked under 40 seconds with no timeouts remaining for the Steelers, Claypool foolishly celebrated after catching a first down and didn’t make any sort of effort to get back to the line of scrimmage.
James Washington showed once again why the team should rely on him more heavily, as he had a great game against the Vikings and saved a Ben Roethlisberger interception in back-to-back weeks. The team needs to give Washington another chance as Claypool learns from his mistakes on the sideline. The Steelers need to nip this in the bud before it becomes a bigger issue.
Steelers OG Trai Turner
Another former Pro Bowler who has been equally as disappointing as Joe Schobert this year is starring right guard, Trai Turner. Despite being a former five-time Pro Bowl player for the Carolina Panthers, Turner has played the worst football of his career over the past two seasons with the Chargers and now the Steelers.
Pittsburgh should have seen this coming. While he’s not considered old for an offensive lineman, Turner’s play fell off a cliff last season, and as injuries have mounted up, he has become even less mobile than he was before.
This is on clear display each week. While Turner certainly has anchoring strength when his man is in front of him, one false step typically doesn’t allow him to recover on the play because of his slow feet. In Week 14 against the Vikings, Turner gave up four pressures — some of which he barely got a hand on his man.
Turner doesn’t fit at all with what Adrian Klemm is trying to do on the offensive line, and he needs to be demoted. If only there was any remaining depth at the guard position for someone to come up and take his place.
Steelers LB Devin Bush
Devin Bush has been even worse overall on the year than Joe Schobert at the linebacker position, but it’s been a toss-up over the second half of the season. Part of me wants to be more willing to give Bush more opportunity — considering the fact that he is much younger with more athletic traits and recently coming off a torn ACL in 2020.
However, over the course of the season, Bush hasn’t given us any reason to believe that he is going to be able to turn things around. The question now becomes this: at what point do the Steelers cut their losses and move on with someone else?
Yes, Pittsburgh did spend a first and second-round pick to move up for Bush in the 2019 NFL Draft, but at some point, the draft capital doesn’t matter anymore if you know you have a bad football player who just doesn’t get it.
Buddy Johnson and Marcus Allen might not be the answer, but both players are probably chomping at the bit to prove themselves. What do the Steelers have to lose at this point if they demote Devin Bush?
There are other players on the roster who haven’t performed well this year, but three of these four starters (Claypool excluded) have been gaping holes on the depth chart this season, and the Steelers need to do something about it.