The Pittsburgh Steelers are hosting veteran WR Gabe Davis today as a potential late addition to an already crowded room. He would be a potential WR2 candidate, which leaves the rest of the room with even more competition. That external pressure doesn’t seem to be fazing them. Robert Woods is the latest to speak about the potential addition of Davis or some other receiver.
“We come out and practice. Whoever is at practice, that’s who we go against,” Woods said in a clip posted by 93.7 The Fan on X. “And whoever is on our team, we welcome them. We don’t look at who’s coming in, who they’re bringing in for workouts. It doesn’t matter. It’s the offseason. It’s part of the game. Guys gonna come and go. Omar [Khan] is trying to build the best roster he can and that’s building guys, challenging guys and making the room always competitive.”
Woods is entering Year 13. He’s undoubtedly dealt with personnel changes that affected his place on depth charts before. By the sound of it, he is helping relay that message to some of the younger guys in the room. Many of them dealt with a similar situation last season with Brandon Aiyuk rumors swirling for multiple months. That lasted all the way through training camp.
Nobody gets to the NFL by being afraid of competition, and I’m sure they all view themselves as starters who can help the offense. It’s their job to prove that to the coaching staff every single day. That doesn’t change with additions to the roster.
Gabe Davis may have received a big-money contract last offseason with the Jacksonville Jaguars, but he was cut just one year later and dealt with an injury that could possibly still be lingering. He has already visited multiple other teams this offseason with no contract, so who is to say he even ends up signing.
If he does, the money the Steelers would give him isn’t likely to dictate his spot on the depth chart. He would still be competing against two promising younger players in Calvin Austin III and Roman Wilson. Robert Woods should be included in that mix as a veteran with two 1,000-yard seasons under his belt.
If Davis signs, things could get interesting with space on the 53-man roster. The Steelers kept five receivers on the initial roster last season and six the year before that. DK Metcalf, Roman Wilson and Calvin Austin III are locks. Davis would probably be considered a lock if he signs, too. That leaves one or two spots for Robert Woods, Ben Skowronek, Scotty Miller and a long list of UDFAs and other offseason roster guys. Skowronek is probably safe by way of special teams, which would create a possible two dogs, one bone scenario for Woods and Davis.
An argument can definitely be made that Woods has the most to lose if Davis signs. He doesn’t seem bothered by that and will keep working the same way he has for 13 years in the league.
Recommended for you