It didn’t take long for the Pittsburgh Steelers to make their first roster move of training camp. They decided to sign veteran safety Chuck Clark, and in order to make room for him, they parted ways with veteran defensive lineman Domenique Davis.
The addition of Clark isn’t that surprising. The safety depth chart is shallow, and outside of the top three names, there was no real roster lock. While a strong safety, he can play either spot and even in the slot. No, he isn’t a major addition at this point, but he strengthens a shallow depth chart.
As for Davis, his release should come as a surprise to no one. From his tape to the depth in the defensive line room, Davis making the team in any capacity would have been a minor miracle.
The Pittsburgh Steelers had no need for Domenique Davis
Davis was a small school standout at UNC Pembroke before going undrafted in the 2020 draft. He was scooped up by the Jets, but failed to make it past July due to an injury.
It looked like his football career was over as he failed to link up with a team until he was drafted in the 26th round of the USFL draft in 2022. Despite his late-round billing, he was productive in the startup league, recording 24 tackles and four sacks.
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This led him to join the Bengals, where he stuck around on their practice squad for a few years, seeing action in two total games. Last November, he joined the Steelers' practice squad before eventually going back to the Bengals' practice squad, finally inking a futures deal with Pittsburgh last January.
The pinballing around and lack of interest at the pro level are pretty telling of how he has fit into the league. Against some lower-level competition, he looked ok, but once matched against backup-level linemen, his play was unspectacular.
His best trait was his size. At 6’2 and around 325 pounds, his frame is perfect for your stereotypical nose tackle. That said, with the defensive line room so deep, it was hard to justify keeping him around.
Keeanu Benton has a stranglehold on the nose tackle spot, while Yahya Black has intriguing traits as a backup. Davis would have been running third and fourth team defense this summer, and that made him expendable.
Getting a capable veteran’s safety was a smart move, and cutting Davis isn’t much of a loss. Given his age and lack of production, it could very well be the end of the line for Davis in the NFL.