The 2022 NFL offseason is a unique one for the Pittsburgh Steelers, as they are in a position they usually don't find themselves in -- they actually have cap space! They currently sit at just over $27 million and can easily get that number near $40 million with some potential cuts, extensions, or restructures.
With all of that cap space however, comes a lot of internal players with expiring contracts that are expected to hit free agency. That list includes JuJu Smith-Schuster, Joe Haden, Ahkello Witherspoon, Terrell Edmunds, Ray-Ray McCloud, as well as several others. That is on top of needing to find a starting quarterback with the retirement of future Hall of Famer, Ben Roethlisberger.
One impending free agent that SteelerNation appears to be not talking about enough is defensive lineman, Montravius Adams.
Adams was signed off of the New Orleans Saints practice squad after Week 11 by the Steelers, and he went onto play significant snaps in five of the final six regular season games, as well as the playoff loss to the Kansas City Chiefs.
The Steelers defensive line was expected to be one of their strengths heading into the 2021 season. But after Stephon Tuitt not suiting up, and Tyson Alualu going down in Week 2 with a season ending injury, the defensive line was struggling mightily outside of Cameron Heyward.
Once the Steelers signed Adams, that changed a bit. After Alualu's injury and before the team acquired Adams, they allowed 5.3 yards per carry over that stretch. A mark like that is not going to usually lead to a winning recipe.
In the games Adams played in (minus the Minnesota Vikings game), the team only allowed 4.9 yards per carry on the ground. While it still isn't a mark to hang your hat on, it is still a decent improvement with Adams on the team.
Adams just finished his 5th NFL season after being a 3rd round pick by the Green Bay Packers in the 2017 NFL Draft out of Auburn University. With the Steelers, he played just under 50% of the team's defensive snaps, which is a career high as he never played more than 26% across an entire season previously.
Primarily playing nose tackle for the Steelers, he was able to fill the hole left by Alualu's injury rather well, but he made it clear in an interview from early January on Steelers.com that he wasn't just a nose tackle.
"I wouldn't just say I'm a nose tackle... and it's crazy because before I first got here, I've heard people like say, 'dang, you're a good nose.' And I was like, I never even really played nose besides Auburn. But the way that they use me here, I understand it. And I feel like, I always felt like nose was an advantage, but I wasn't just a nose tackle."
That versatility is something that, if re-signed, would be very key for the Steelers during the 2022 season. Alualu has said he is returning for the 2022 season, and there has been some optimism around the team that Tuitt will be back as well. That would leave Adams potentially as a key rotational piece at both nose tackle and defensive end, which would help the team not have to prioritize the position in free agency or the NFL Draft unless they get a great deal.
Going into his 6th NFL season, Adams would cost at least $1.035 million in 2022 as that is the veteran minimum for someone with his years of service. I would anticipate Adams to sign a two-year deal worth between the veteran minimum number and $1.5 million annually. That would be a very affordable deal that the Steelers should offer to Adams without much thought based on his performance and versatility with the team.
Let us know in the comment section below what you think about Adams and whether the Steelers should re-sign him for 2022 and potentially beyond.
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