Steelers 2020 trade for Chris Wormley looks better than ever

The Steelers traded for defensive lineman Chris Wormley in 2020. With Stephon Tuitt now officially retired, the move to get Wormley looks even better.

When the Pittsburgh Steelers traded for defensive lineman, Chris Wormley, some questioned the move. Wormley was just a rotational defensive lineman for the Baltimore Ravens and had just one year remaining on his rookie contract.

At the cost of a fifth-round pick, the Steelers acquired Wormley —  a player with 2.5 career sacks and 4 tackles for a loss in his first three seasons — and a seventh-rounder.  Two years later, this trade is looking better than ever.

When Stephon Tuitt elected to sit out the entire 2021 season, it was Wormley who stepped up to play 71 percent of defensive snaps — earning 7.0 sacks and 6 tackles for a loss in the process, according to Pro Football Reference. He wasn’t just a one-year rental either.

After a solid season, the Steelers gave Wormley a contract extension. This again proved to be the right move. During Pittsburgh’s OTAs, Stephon Tuitt released his retirement statement to the team.

While this was the last thing that most Steelers fans wanted to hear, we can at least take some comfort in knowing we have a solid football player in Wormley who is now more acclimated to the role he will play again in 2022.

Steelers have made proactive moves

Trading for Chris Wormley wasn’t the only proactive move the Steelers made in preparation for life after Stephon Tuitt. Over the past two years, Pittsburgh landed two more young defensive linemen that they really like.

During the 2021 NFL Draft, Pittsburgh traded a future fourth-round pick to move back into the draft and select Wisconsin defensive lineman, Isaiahh Loudermilk. He played 29 percent of defensive snaps as a rookie and could carve out a sizable rotational role moving forward.

This past April, the Steelers used their third-round pick on a talented defensive lineman in DeMarvin Leal. The former oversized base edge defender from Texas A&M will transition to a 5-technique in Pittsburgh’s 3-4 defensive front — much like Tuitt and Cameron Heyward did coming out of college.

The collection of these moves almost makes you wonder if the Steelers knew all along that Tuitt wasn’t going to be returning. Either way, kudos to Kevin Colbert and the front office for being proactive with the decisions they’ve made on the defensive line over the past few years.

It’s very possible that Tuitt’s long-term replacement still isn’t on the team, but Pittsburgh could have been in a much worse situation had they not traded for Chris Wormley two years back and made some of the moves they did leading up to this point. With a full offseason to prepare knowing Stephon Tuitt will not be part of the plan, I would expect better results from the defensive line in 2022.