Pittsburgh Steelers' 2025 training camp is in the books, and fans have already seen their last look at players on the practice field until next summer. In a few weeks, the Steelers' coaching staff and front office heads will make some challenging roster decisions, and several notable players will be on their way out. But Pittsburgh needs to take a proactive approach when it comes to DeMarvin Leal.
One deep position happens to be along the defensive line. After selecting Jack Sawyer in the fourth round of the 2025 NFL Draft, the Steelers have their top four edge rushers in place. This is where Leal has been operating for most of training camp and during his first preseason game against the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Leal also has the versatility to play along the interior defensive line. However, after selecting Derrick Harmon and Yahya Black in the draft this year, there's no room for Leal.
This doesn't mean that Leal is a bad football player, but his fit with the Steelers has always been peculiar. Instead of cutting him outright and letting him sign with another team, Pittsburgh could seek a trade partner before cutdown day.
The Pittsburgh Steelers should attempt to trade DeMarvin Leal before roster cutdowns
DeMarvin Leal has an enticing reputation that could attract a few teams. Coming out of college, 247Sports listed Leal as a five-star recruit—the No. 1 defensive tackle recruit and No. 3 overall recruit in the nation. Then the talented defensive end played for an SEC school at Texas A&M, where he was, at one point, projected to be a future top-five draft pick.
Of course, Leal didn't produce in college like many expected, and when he declared early, he ended up falling to the Pittsburgh Steelers in the third round of the 2022 NFL Draft. But there could be a few teams still interested.
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Although Leal hasn't done much during his three seasons in the NFL, he remains healthy and is still just 24 years old. Leal's position flexibility and ability to slide along the defensive line could be enticing enough for a team to trade a late-round pick for his services.
With just one career sack and three tackles for a loss to his name entering his fourth NFL season, the Steelers couldn't possibly get anywhere close to their third-round return on Leal. We are talking about a seventh-round pick here. Perhaps the Steelers could even swap one of their sixth-round picks next year for a team's fifth-rounder in a Leal trade.
Either way, getting something out of DeMarvin Leal is better than cutting him outright. Leal had a solid training camp with the Pittsburgh Steelers and could increase his trade value slightly with a strong showing in the final two preseason games.