The 2019 season has been one of the more interesting that the Pittsburgh Steelers have had since I began covering the team several years ago. The unique trait, of course, has been the absence of Ben Roethlisberger, who was injured in Week Two and has not played since, but so much has gone into the unique color palette of the 2019 season that it’s hard to put into words.
David DeCastro, however, did have one word for it. “It’s been a rollercoaster”, he told Missi Matthews during an interview for the team’s website, describing the regular season. “A lot of them usually are”, he added, however, said that “A lot of emotions that go into it, a lot of ups and downs”.
A first-round draft pick back in 2012, it’s fair to say he’s been around the block a bit at this point in his career and has seen quite a few things. He has gone through an extended injury time as well, missing the first 13 games of his rookie season, so he can relate to that.
Going back to the offseason, however, and the people that they lost or parted with, the whole calendar year, the past 365 days, has been quite a saga, starting with their win over the New England Patriots. Then you have Antonio Brown going AWOL and everything that transpired as a result of that.
“Just the way they started with the injuries and the losses, it’s tough”, DeCastro admitted, but added that his experience and history in the league help provide not only perspective but also the means of handling the varying moods of such a season.
“The older you get and the more seasons you’ve been through, you kind of know how to deal with the ups and downs and you kind of just try to keep every week the same”, he said. “I think we’ve done a good job this year with this team and just coming back to work and not really looking at wins or losses and just trying to win every week and not looking forward or backward, and putting ourselves in pretty good position, all things considered”.
Considering the fact that an undrafted rookie out of Samford who was not signed after the draft has been their starting quarterback for the past several weeks, it’s fair to say that a lot of what has happened this season has come off-script.
But it’s not as though the Steelers’ linemen aren’t used to working off-script. They are the most veteran part of the roster, and in many ways, they have been responsible for holding everything together, both on and off the field, through what could have been a very trying season.
