Organized team activities may be voluntary, but here are four Pittsburgh Steelers players who desperately need to show up to work this week.
After months without any NFL action to look forward to outside of rookie minicamp, football is back!… Well, sort of. The Pittsburgh Steelers will kick off their organized team activities (OTAs) this week.
It’s hard to gain a lot of deep football insight when it comes to OTAs, as these practices are going to be pretty light. However, it will be telling who shows up. These organized workouts are not mandatory, but here are four players who desperately need to show up and put in the extra work:
Steelers LB Devin Bush
I don’t care where Devin Bush was drafted at this point or what the coaches think about him. After the fiasco we saw last year, the young linebacker absolutely needs to be at OTAs getting as much practice time in as possible.
Bush suffered an ACL tear during the 2020 season, so he might not have been up to full speed last year. He certainly didn’t seem like he was playing with much intensity or explosion. It’s hard to keep coming up with excuses for Bush, but I’m still trying to be optimistic about a potential turnaround in 2022.
If Bush is to have any shot at redeeming himself and patching his otherwise tarnished reputation. He needs to step up and be a leader in the middle of Pittsburgh’s defense. This starts with showing up for organized team activities.
Steelers DL Stephon Tuitt
For all of us who have been anxiously awaiting a decision from Stephon Tuitt this offseason, we might have that answer very soon. As you know, Tuitt sat out the entire 2021 season after grieving the loss of his younger brother. Now he essentially faces an ultimatum to return to the team or face being released.
After not suiting up for a minute of NFL action since the end of the 2020 season, I severely doubt that Tuitt is in tip-top football shape. Even if he’s been working out from home, Tuitt needs to show up and start putting reps in with his teammates — many of which he has never played with before.
I’m one of the biggest Stephon Tuitt supporters I know. Prior to his absence last season, I truly believed he was a top-five player on the team in the prime of his NFL career. Getting him back would be massive for a team that ranked dead last in run defense in 2021.
Sadly, if Tuitt doesn’t show up to Steelers OTAs, it might be a telltale sign that he no longer wishes to continue his playing career in Pittsburgh. I’m hoping for good news this week.
Steelers C Kendrick Green
This is a moment of truth for Kendrick Green. After a poor rookie season in which the third-round draft choice was benched late in the year, the Steelers actively pursued two free-agent interior offensive linemen to come in and help this offensive line out in 2022.
As of now, Green is projected to be the backup center. He can either take this lying down or stand up and fight and prove that the Steelers made a good choice drafting him.
I had a lot of questions surrounding Green prior to his rookie season. The athletic upside and movement skills were on full display, but I wondered how well he would handle NFL power. Turns out, not very well at all.
With another offseason in an NFL weight program, I’m at least somewhat optimistic that Green could be much better in his second season with the Steelers. There is no live contact permitted at OTAs, but his coaches need to see him there working his butt off.
Steelers RB Anthony McFarland
After two seasons in a row of offering essentially nothing to this team, Anthony McFarland could be on the roster bubble in 2022 desire being a former fourth-round draft choice. The speedster running back has had few opportunities with the ball in his hands, but we have to wonder why. Is he struggling in practice?
Whatever the reason was for his limited usage since entering the league, we hope he can prove himself with a breakout campaign in year three. McFarland was very successful as a young running back at Maryland and he might be the only RB on the roster with the ability to hit explosive plays and score from any point on the field.
My hope for McFarland has slowly dissipated and he has not come close to living up to expectations. Perhaps if Matt Canada is able to run his full offense in 2022 for the first time McFarland could be more involved, but he has to earn it. The Steelers RB needs to be at OTAs.
The Pittsburgh Steelers are probably expecting a large turnout here as even seasoned veterans and leaders like Cameron Heyward are normally on hand. These four players could each have roles with the team moving forward, but they need to make the choice to show up at OTAs.