Steelers TE roster bubble: Zach Gentry
As a founding member of the Zach Gentry fan club, this is hurtful for me to include. While Zach Gentry is in a similar spot as a lot of the aforementioned names on this list (inside looking out), he isn’t locked into a role. His biggest saving grace is that the team wants to go heavy this year, but that might not even be enough to keep him on the roster.
The issue is, the Steelers invested a third-round pick in tight end Darnell Washington. The big mauler from Georgia is already the best blocking tight end on the team, and while he will need some work as a receiver, he should quickly move into that second tight end role. That leaves Gentry as a third traditional tight end.
Connor Heyward will also be seeing snaps as a tight end still, and while he isn’t the traditional body type for the position, he proved last year to be a valuable weapon and special teams player. Now, that all doesn’t mean Gentry can’t stick around though.
What will really be the focus for this team is if they keep a traditional fullback or not. If Heyward takes on that role, then Gentry should be safe, as the team can afford to carry four tight ends with one of them serving as the fullback. If, however, the team decides to carry a pure fullback, Gentry could be off the roster.
Again, Gentry is safer than not, but there is a real chance he could become a victim of the numbers game. If the team opts for a pure fullback, Gentry doesn’t have a good fit on this roster, as keeping four tight ends and a fullback isn’t practical. Gentry has to hope that this team decides to build this offense as most expect them to.