Steelers preseason Keeanu Benton Payton Wilson Will Howard Broderick Jones
Steelers preseason Keeanu Benton Payton Wilson Will Howard Broderick Jones
Rookies often fuel the interest in preseason games, but the Steelers have several veterans who have a lot to prove. For tonight’s game, we’ll focus on four of them, most of whom have already been established starters. Only one is a second-year player, but is competing for a pivotal role. The others are either trying to regain or hold onto a role or fighting to not lose one.
Broderick Jones: Having been a starter for the past three years, Broderick Jones knows he is likely in his final season with the team that drafted him. The Steelers have drafted tackles in the first round in two of the past three years, though rookie Max Iheanachor is expected to miss tonight’s preseason game.
At least for him, Jones can make a run at retaining a starting job for one final season before heading into free agency. But he is starting from behind, Dylan Cook leading the way. And Cook has done nothing to put himself at risk of losing his job—at least not to anybody who isn’t the future starter in waiting. But if Jones shows he is the best option for this year, they shouldn’t hesitate to start him. That third-round compensatory pick for Dan Moore Jr. went down pretty smoothly.
Will Howard: Unlike the others on this list, Will Howard has, like…no experience. At all. The Steelers’ first preseason game tonight will be his first action since he was in college. Around this time last year, he injured his hand and missed the entire preseason and the rest of training camp.
The thing is, now he is competing to be the Steelers’ backup quarterback, so he needs to have a strong preseason. Because if he doesn’t earn that role, he might not even have a roster spot. Pittsburgh drafted Drew Allar in the third round, who has a virtually guaranteed roster spot. If he doesn’t look like backup material, they may risk exposing him to the waiver wire.
Keeanu Benton: This is an interesting one, considering Keeanu Benton is theoretically in contract negotiations. Regardless of what’s going on in the front office, though, the reality is he is competing with Yahya Black for playing time now. And that includes the Steelers moving him to different spots, which we should see throughout the preseason.
How he handles moving around and whether he can show a greater pass rush on as a four- or five-tech will go a long way toward determining how much he might play. Of course, you can talk about Yahya Black here in the same breath. He has just as much to prove as Benton, if not more. The momentum of public opinion is behind him though. Steelers fans want a big, fat nose tackle, even if it’s in the preseason.
Payton Wilson: In the case of Payton Wilson, he is auditioning for a future and for a contract. He needs to prove to the Steelers that he can be an every-down linebacker, and while he has taken strides during training camp, it’s critical that he shows it during the preseason. If he can show it in live fire against actual opponents, it could translate to more snaps in real games. Then they’ll feel much more comfortable about giving him a fat contract next offseason.