The title of this post is sensational, but it is also so very true as Pittsburgh Steelers unrestricted free agent tackle Trai Essex has dropped some more serious weight this offseason as you can see in the picture below that he uses as his Twitter avatar.
When Essex showed up last summer at the wedding of quarterback Ben Roethlisberger he reportedly weighed around 375 pounds, close to 50 pounds over his playing weight. Essex, who was also an unrestricted free agent last offseason, was pretty much told he would need to lose weight if the Steelers were going to consider bringing him back. While he never revealed how much weight he actually lost by the time the Steelers re-signed him in late August, he did hint that was a couple of newborn babies.
Essex was quoted as saying after he was signed back, “I have a new lease on life and I want to make it work. I had to change some things, my eating habits, workout habits, being more of a professional. The Steelers brought me back and I am forever grateful to them. I am in a situation where I can change some beliefs they may have about me and rectify them and I plan on doing that. I am willing to do whatever it takes to be a part of the Steelers organization.” Judging by the recent photo, Essex has continued to do just that.
The Steelers have yet to re-sign any of their own unrestricted free agents this offsesason, but Essex certainly could be on their agenda as they could use experienced depth on the offensive line. Currently the Steelers only have five linemen that are considered locks to make the 53 roster right now and they figure to draft a guard and a tackle later this month. Even then, the Steelers could still use another versatile player such as Essex, who showed he could even play center in a pinch against the St. Louis Rams in week 16.
Essex looks great right now and all of that losing in the weight department, could wind up with him winning himself another year with the Steelers. He really does look great and looks like he could play tight end again like he did at Northwestern.
