There’s not much you can do when you move in to a house and most of the furniture, appliances and everything else has largely been installed. It takes time and money to change things around and get them to just how you want them. Pittsburgh Steelers’ General Manager Omar Khan is in such a position. His predecessor Kevin Colbert did a largely fantastic job at making sure the house was in good shape but that doesn’t mean there weren’t some areas that needed significant upgrades. While getting the team to the required 53 men today, Khan also made a couple of deals to improve depth.
The first saw him trade a sixth round pick to Denver for Outside Linebacker depth in the name of Malik Reed and a seventh round selection. Reed had five sacks in 2021 and has 15 for his three-year career. He will immediately assume the role of “swing OLB” in which he will spell both T.J. Watt and Alex Highsmith. With Delonte Scott and Hamilcar Rashed cut earlier in the day it made sense.
Later in the day, Khan traded a conditional seventh round pick for five-year offensive lineman Jesse Davis of Minnesota. With both Joe Haeg and John LeGlue cut earlier today, the Steelers were desperate for depth. Davis has experience at nearly every spot along the line with the exception of center. At this time I have to believe he’s a depth signing who has the ability to start games. Unfortunately there’s also this…
Good news is that Jesse Davis has tons of experience from his days in Miami, played mostly RT but has versatility to kick inside.
The bad news is that he allowed the fourth most pressures in all of football last season. His 34 blown blocks were the 12th most in the NFL per SIS.
— Derrick (@Steelers_DB) August 30, 2022
Davis seems to fit right in with an offensive line struggling to open holes in the running game and struggling just as much to protect the quarterback.
The cost of these two players indicates both were likely going to be cut at the 4pm deadline. Reed, in my opinion, makes some sense because other teams would have definitely been waiting to pounce. In the case of Davis, I think they could have easily waited for him to be released but obviously didn’t want to risk that. The two moves leaves the Steelers currently with just five draft picks for 2023.
The Steelers also trimmed down their roster with some other surprising cuts. Anthony McFarland and Buddy Johnson, two recent draft picks were both sent packing yet could return via the practice squad.
I suspect the Steelers are far from done in terms of changes to their roster. But short of a monster trade that involves players and/or high draft picks, your 2022 Pittsburgh Steelers are largely in place. Khan is to be applauded for being assertive in his attempts to clean up the house that was left for him. I’m just not sure he’s done enough.
Feature image courtesy post-gazette.com
