Steelers' Rookie D-Lineman Questionably Got "Redshirt Year" Despite Team's Huge Struggles

General Manager Omar Khan and the Pittsburgh Steelers drafted an impressive group of players in last year's NFL Draft, despite a few rookies being unable to take the field for the majority of the regular season due to injuries. Zach Frazier, Mason McCormick, and Payton Wilson were three of the seven players from Pittsburgh's 2024 draft class that played for most of their rookie seasons. While each of those guys had very impactful first years and hold bright futures with the franchise, the other four rookies spent most of the season on the injured reserve list and will have to wait until the 2025 season to prove their worth.

Troy Fautanu, Roman Wilson, Ryan Watts, and Logan Lee all spent a lot, if not the entire season, away from the regular season with injuries. All four of these Steelers rookies dealt with injuries throughout training camp and preseason events, but Lee, specifically, did not suffer from anything as serious as guys like Fautanu and Watts. Lee, who was taken by the Steelers in the sixth round, is a versatile defensive lineman who is capable of playing multiple positions.

On Tuesday, Lee spoke about his rookie season experience. He said he spent the entire season on the injured reserve list, despite having decent health. The reasoning for Lee being unable to get into the lineup is certainly questioning, considering how poorly Pittsburgh's defensive line performed down the stretch. 

"By the last preseason game, I had another minor soft tissue injury, and that put me out just about two weeks, which was right for Week 1," Lee said. "They ended up putting me on injured reserve because we had pretty good depth at defensive line."

To say that the Steelers had or have quality depth at defensive line is certainly up for debate. Obviously the outside linebackers and edge rushers have been playing at a high level, but the interior front did not have a good season, outside of Cameron Heyward. Larry Ogunjobi had a very disappointing season and his time with the Steelers could be over. Meanwhile, Keeanu Benton didn't take as big of a jump from his first to second season as many were hoping. 

"So I stayed on injured reserve the entire year, got healthy, and it was kind of like a development year," Lee continued. "Almost like a redshirt year for me to where I was able to be retained by the Steelers while also being able to prepare myself, get healthy, and be able to get ready for the next year. They had invested a draft pick in me, and they wanted to keep me around for me to show my capabilities next year."

The defensive line quickly became a position that the Steelers needed help at, which leads to why many are expecting the team to draft a big man early in the upcoming draft. It doesn't make a whole lot of sense to purposely keep Lee off of the field when the other backup linemen, like Isaiahh Loudermilk and Montravius Adams, aren't helping out the defense much either. Pittsburgh's embarrassing December losing stretch occurred due to many organizational issues, and stopping the run up front was one of them. If Lee was healthy enough to put on the pads, the Steelers should have given the rookie a shot. 

The Steelers have struggled finding a young and emerging defensive lineman that can follow Heyward's steps as he gets closer to his retirement. Heyward will be 36 years old by the time next season is kicked off, and despite having a phenomenal campaign, the number of years he has left in the tank is low. Pittsburgh needs to find their next guy for the defensive line, and they should be more open-minded with guys like Lee just waiting for an opportunity. 

Steelers' Lack Of Depth Up Front Came To Haunt Defense Greatly

Lee claimed the Steelers had enough depth on their defensive line early in the season, but it actually became a huge problem for the defense by the time they were entering the playoffs. The star edge rushers fought through injuries throughout the season, which put a lot of more pressure on Heyward and the interior group. Alex Highsmith had a bad ankle injury during the early portions and middle of the season, and then TJ Watt wound up playing through a plethora of injuries during the end of the year. 

Pittsburgh's defensive front is supposed to be the heart of the defense, but became a huge liability during their losing streak. The Steelers weren't generating enough sacks with the pass rush, and they couldn't stop other teams from running the ball either. Against the Baltimore Ravens in the Wild Card Round, the Steelers allowed 299 rushing yards and sacked Lamar Jackson just once. In their previous matchup with the Ravens in Week 16, Pittsburgh allowed 220 rushing yards. 

What do you think about the Steelers deciding to keep Lee on the injured reserve for the entire year despite him being relatively healthy? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.

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