Now that the 2021 season is over, bringing yet another year of disappointment, a fifth consecutive season with no postseason victories, it’s time to take stock of where the Pittsburgh Steelers stand. Specifically, where Steelers players stand individually based on what we have seen and are seeing over the course of the season and into the offseason as it plays out. We will also be reviewing players based on their previous season and their prospects for the future. A stock evaluation can take a couple of different approaches and I’ll try to make clear my reasoning. In some cases, it will be based on more long-term trends. In other instances, it will be a direct response to something that just happened. Because of this, we can and will see a player more than once over the course of the season as we move forward.
Player: DL Henry Mondeaux
Stock Value: Down
Reasoning: The Steelers replaced the roster spot of retired defensive lineman Daniel Archibong with another defensive lineman who is more experienced in Doug Costin. The move makes the path for Henry Mondeaux to stick to the practice squad a bit more difficult.
With training camp around the corner, we’re getting closer and closer to finally getting a look at where the position groups stand. The Steelers have acquired depth along the defensive line this offseason, no doubt spurred on by their issues in that arena last year, which is going to make it quite difficult for those on the lower end of the depth chart to keep their jobs.
And the player most at risk has to be Henry Mondeaux, who actually dressed for 16 games, including the postseason, during 2021. And he did play 244 defensive snaps, even if he didn’t play on special teams the way that he did in 2020, which is how he first earned a roster spot.
This year, however, there simply is no room for him if everything in front of him works out as expected. You have Cameron Heyward, Tyson Alualu, and Larry Ogunjobi starting, with Chris Wormley and Montravius Adams as your top backups. Then you have rookie DeMarvin Leal and second-year Isaiahh Loudermilk. And then there are the Davis brothers, Carlos and Khalil.
At least two, if not three of those players are already not going to make the 53-man roster. It’s extremely unlikely that they would carry more than nine defensive linemen in total between the 53-man roster and the practice squad. Mondeaux has plenty of experience on the practice squad over the course of his career, but is he favored to make it again?
The Steelers signed Doug Costin to their roster, who started nine games and has almost 500 career defensive snaps played over the past two years, after the less experienced Daniel Archibong retired. It would be natural to wonder if the signing of Costin is even more of a threat than Archibong was to Mondeaux to keep himself around on the practice squad.
