4 in-house options the Steelers can use to replace DE Stephon Tuitt

Steelers replacement #1

Anyone that watched the team last year should know who the obvious replacement should be for Tuitt, as Chris Wormley was essentially his replacement last season. While not as elite as Tuitt is, Wormley more than held his own. He was consistently sound in his defense and even made a splash as a pass rusher, something he hadn’t really done before.

While Wormley was nothing more than a backup before last year, he was forced into a starting role due to the surplus of injuries across the line. While he is no Tuitt, he was one of the more promising players from a position that mostly struggled. He put up some career numbers last year, and while some regression could be coming, there is little reason to believe he will suddenly be a liability.

The only scenario where I could see Wormley yielding playing time as outlined above. Leal is a talented pass rusher, and he could steal some of Tuitt’s sub-package snaps eventually. Until that point though, this can and should be Wormely’s job for the taking. Expect to see him play as he did last year for the team now that he is the full-time starter.

While the retirement of Tuitt isn’t ideal, he did what was best for him. The team luckily has options to replace him though, and they have some time to sort out who they will turn to as his replacement. These four in-house options all have a legitimate chance to replace the retiring Tuitt for the Steelers.