The Pittsburgh Steelers’ signing of Darnell Savage on June 2 was made to shore up the depth chart at the safety position, giving Pittsburgh another dependable veteran along with Jalen Ramsey, DeShon Elliott and Jaquan Brisker.
Though the signing took longer than expected, the bottom of the roster looks better with Savage on it due to his experience and history with the Steelers’ new coaching staff.
However, longtime Steelers reporter and local insider Mark Kaboly believes Savage won’t make the 53-man roster out of training camp.
“I keep throwing the name of Sebastian Castro out there and everybody laughs at me, but he’s a guy that’s slowly making his way into that conversation, in my opinion,” Kaboly said Monday morning on 93.7 The Fan, according to audio via 93.7 The Fan. “It’s obviously really early and he has a lot of talent. Maybe they feel happy with how he proves himself throughout there. And he can be that number three right now.
“Savage, I think he had a stress fracture, I believe, in his leg and that’s why it took so long for him to sign him. Obviously, he’s healthy or they wouldn’t have signed him, but he seems like a guy that’s a last-minute cut or doesn’t make the 53-man roster.”
Savage not making the team out of training camp, considering his connections to the coaching staff and his ability to play on special teams and defensively, would be a bit of a surprise.
He’s played more than 5,000 career snaps defensively and can play all over the defensive formation, whether that’s in a deep safety role, box safety, or even in the slot. He also has more than 300 career special teams snaps, too, so that experience is there that could keep him on the roster.
Kaboly doesn’t see it playing out that way though. He’s praised Castro throughout the offseason, and with a new special teams coordinator in Danny Crossman overseeing things, Castro could carve out a role.
Savage’s health is a question. Why it took so long to sign after reports surfaced at the start of free agency that he’d be a Steeler is a concern. But he is healthy now and has a chance to get up to speed and compete for a roster spot.
Right now, he feels pretty safe. But that could all change in training camp if Castro continues to put together a strong stretch.
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