The Pittsburgh Steelers’ 2025 offseason practices concluded in the middle of June, and next up is the team’s annual training camp, which will get underway in the latter part of July at Saint Vincent College in Latrobe. Ahead of that, we will preview the team’s offseason roster, three players at a time. This Steelers roster preview, which includes an outlook for every player, will be done alphabetically by last name to make it easy to follow. This series figures to exceed 90 players as the team can carry 91 players during the offseason due to the allowance of one international player designation.
The next three players we will preview ahead of the Steelers’ 2025 training camp are Esezi Otomewo, Cordarrelle Patterson, and James Pierre.
DT Esezi Otomewo: Originally selected in the fifth round of the 2022 NFL Draft out of Minnesota by the Minnesota Vikings, Otomewo signed with the Steelers on a one-year contract in the middle of March following his previous team, the Jacksonville Jaguars, not issuing him an exclusive rights free agent tender this offseason.
In 2023, Otomewo spent that season on the Jaguars’ practice squad. The Jaguars re-signed him to a Reserve/Future contract in early 2024, and he remained on their 53-man roster throughout the season. Esezi Otomewo, however, was inactive for all but four games with the Jaguars in 2024. He logged just 90 defensive snaps for the Jaguars in 2024 and 43 more on special teams. He was credited with four total tackles in 2024 to go along with one half sack, two quarterback hits, and one fumble recovery.
For his 2022 rookie season with the Vikings, Otomewo logged 89 total defensive snaps and 45 more on special teams on his way to recording five total tackles and one tackle for loss. Invited to the 2022 NFL Scouting Combine, Otomewo measured in at the event at 6053, 280 pounds with 9 3/8-inch hands and 34 7/8-inch arms. He ran his pro day 40-yard dash in 5.01 seconds, did 21 reps on the bench, and posted a vertical jump of 35.5 inches to go along with a broad jump of 9’4″.
During his college career, Otomewo primarily lined up outside a tackle as a defensive end. He did, however, play a little bit in the A and B gaps in his four college seasons. In his limited NFL snaps to date, Otomewo has mostly lined up in the B gap as a defensive tackle.
Outlook: Otomewo certainly projects to be a defensive tackle in the Steelers’ defensive scheme, and it will be interesting to see if he is now closer to 300 pounds once he arrives for training camp this summer. It’s hard to imagine him getting sincere consideration at nose tackle with the Steelers.
The Steelers invested heavily in their defensive line room this offseason, adding two new players, Derrick Harmon and Yahya Black, who were acquired during the 2025 NFL Draft. This past offseason, the Steelers re-signed DE Isaiahh Loudermilk and inked DT Daniel Ekuale to a one-year contract during free agency.
On the surface, Otomewo only has a tiny chance of making the team’s 53-man roster out of the preseason. At least he does have some limited NFL experience in regular-season games so far, and that’s always a plus. Even so, Otomewo, barring a fantastic training camp and preseason, seems best suited to fight for a practice squad this summer.
The Steelers, at most, will likely keep six defensive linemen on their initial 53-man roster this year. Otomewo will be doing well and exceeding expectations by ultimately landing one of the few spots that seem open ahead of training camp. Personally, I think he is a perfect candidate for the Week 1 practice squad.
RB/KR Cordarrelle Patterson: The Steelers signed Patterson last March to a two-year, $6 million contract that included a signing bonus of $1.9 million and base salaries in 2024 and 2025 of $1.3 million and $2.8 million, respectively. Patterson had previously played for the Atlanta Falcons, the team that then-new Steelers OC Arthur Smith was the head coach of.
Patterson was brought to Pittsburgh to be the team’s primary kickoff returner and a backup running back. He played in 13 regular-season games for the Steelers in 2024 in addition to the team’s lone playoff game. He missed four consecutive contests due to an ankle injury, however.
In total, Patterson logged 110 regular-season offensive snaps in 2024 to go along with 64 more on special teams. He recorded 32 carries for 135 yards and 12 receptions for another 80 yards and a touchdown on offense in 2024. His longest play from scrimmage, a pass reception, was good for 20 yards.
As a kickoff returner for the Steelers in 2024, Patterson returned a total of 11 of those for 240 yards with a long return of 33 yards.
Outlook: Now 34 years old with his best days as a kickoff returner likely behind him, and especially with the new NFL rules regarding those, Patterson is far from guaranteed a roster spot this summer with the Steelers. The Steelers made sure to add to their running back room this offseason as veteran Kenneth Gainwell was signed and rookie Kaleb Johnson was added in the third round of the 2025 NFL Draft.
The Steelers will likely give several players a chance at becoming the team’s new kickoff returner this summer, and Johnson certainly could be included in that list of candidates. Outside of returning kickoffs, Patterson isn’t much of an asset on special teams. And while he can function as both a running back and wide receiver on offense, Patterson is now more of a bit player at both of those positions.
While it is a bit surprising that Patterson has survived this long on the Steelers’ offseason roster, it will be more surprising if he makes the Week 1 team come September. While the experiment with Patterson was worth the gamble in 2024, and especially due to his familiarity with Smith’s offense, and vice versa, it really doesn’t make much sense to take yet another gamble on him in 2025.
We’ll see what ultimately happens, but I’m not expecting Patterson to be a Steeler when the team plays the New York Jets on the road in Week 1.
CB James Pierre: Last March, Pierre was an unrestricted free agent for the first time in his NFL career. He signed a one-year contract with the Washington Commanders. That stay with Washington only lasted throughout the preseason, however, as the Commanders cut Pierre prior to the start of the 2024 regular season.
Pierre ultimately started the 2024 regular season unemployed. The Steelers, however, changed that when they signed Pierre to their practice squad in Week 2. By Week 3, Pierre was back on the Steelers’ 53-man roster and remained on it the rest of the season. He became an unrestricted free agent once again this summer, and the Steelers re-signed him to their roster via a cheap veteran benefit contract.
Last season, Pierre logged 206 regular-season snaps on defense and 255 more on special teams. He played in 15 regular-season contests for the Steelers in 2024 as well as the team’s lone playoff game. For the 2024 season, Pierre registered 23 total tackles, two forced fumbles, three passes defensed, and one interception. 11 of his 23 tackles came on special teams, as did his two forced fumbles in 2024.
Pierre registered one pass target in 2024, which came via a fake punt attempt. Pierre dropped that pass target on fourth down despite being wide open on the play.
Outlook: At this point in his career, Pierre is a backup cornerback in the NFL and a player with a strong special-teams background, especially as a member of the punt coverage team. That, however, will only get him so far.
Should Pierre ultimately make the Steelers’ 53-man roster this summer, which is a very plausible notion, it will mainly be because of his play on special teams. He is a near-core player when it comes to that phase of the game. Even so, the Steelers would probably be wise not to throw him passes on fake punts moving forward.
While Pierre certainly can play outside cornerback in a pinch, he’s not a player you want on the field that much in coverage. For Pierre not to make the team’s 53-man roster this summer, another player will need to wrestle away his punt coverage team job from him, which is possible to do.
Previous Posts In This Series:
90 In 30: Steelers 2025 Training Camp Preview Series — Calvin Anderson, Spencer Anderson, Calvin Austin III
90 In 30: Steelers 2025 Training Camp Preview Series — Keeanu Benton, Beanie Bishop Jr., Yahya Black
90 In 30: Steelers 2025 Training Camp Preview Series — Chris Boswell, Nick Broeker, Carson Bruener
90 In 30: Steelers 2025 Training Camp Preview Series — Sebastian Castro, Dylan Cook, Domenique Davis
90 In 30: Steelers 2025 Training Camp Preview Series — Brandin Echols, Daniel Ekuale, DeShon Elliott
90 In 30: Steelers 2025 Training Camp Preview Series — Troy Fautanu, Minkah Fitzpatrick, Zach Frazier
90 In 30: Steelers 2025 Training Camp Preview Series — Pat Freiermuth, Kenneth Gainwell, JJ Galbreath
90 In 30: Steelers 2025 Training Camp Preview Series — Derrick Harmon, Devin Harper, Malik Harrison
90 In 30: Steelers 2025 Training Camp Preview Series — Nick Herbig, Cameron Heyward, Connor Heyward
90 In 30: Steelers 2025 Training Camp Preview Series — Alex Highsmith, Cole Holcomb, Will Howard
90 In 30: Steelers 2025 Training Camp Preview Series — Evan Hull, Max Hurleman, D’Shawn Jamison
90 In 30: Steelers 2025 Training Camp Preview Series — Brandon Johnson, Kaleb Johnson, Quindell Johnson
90 In 30: Steelers 2025 Training Camp Preview Series — Cameron Johnston, Broderick Jones, Steven Jones
90 In 30: Steelers 2025 Training Camp Preview Series — Donte Kent, Miles Killebrew, Christian Kuntz
90 In 30: Steelers 2025 Training Camp Preview Series — DeMarvin Leal, Logan Lee, Montana Lemonious-Craig
90 In 30: Steelers 2025 Training Camp Preview Series — Eku Leota, Isaiahh Loudermilk, Dean Lowry
90 In 30: Steelers 2025 Training Camp Preview Series — Ryan McCollum, Mason McCormick, Cameron McCutcheon
90 In 30: Steelers 2025 Training Camp Preview Series — Lance McCutcheon, Kyler McMichael, DK Metcalf
90 In 30: Steelers 2025 Training Camp Preview Series — Scotty Miller, Jeremiah Moon, Doug Nester
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