Player: Trent Scott
Position: Offensive Line
Experience: 5 Years
Free Agent Status: Unrestricted
2022 Salary Cap Hit: $895,000 (reduced cap hit from $1,035,000)
2022 Season Breakdown:
The Pittsburgh Steelers never had to test Trent Scott, even though he spent the entire season as their swing tackle. Starters Dan Moore Jr. and Chukwuma Okorafor combined to play all but one snap on the year, so nearly all of the veteran’s playing time came in specialist situations.
More specifically, he saw one snap at right tackle on the season. He played another 30 snaps as a tackle-eligible tight end, a sixth lineman, in run-blocking situations. Perhaps notable is that it’s a role relatively new to him. He did it for about 20 snaps combined in his first two seasons with the Chargers, but never again until this past season.
The Steelers originally signed him fairly late in the offseason as an unrestricted free agent to a veteran minimum qualifying contract with no signing bonus. They added him in large part because he was well-versed in Pat Meyer’s system, having played under him as offensive coordinator his entire career.
But he was brought in as depth, without a guaranteed roster spot, and he did the job. Not much was asked of him, but to his credit he largely succeeded in doing what was asked of him when it was asked of him.
Not that you would want to push the limits. Ideally, the Steelers manage to upgrade the backup tackle position over the course of the offseason. But that doesn’t mean there isn’t a spot on the roster for him next season, at least as currently formulated.
Free Agency Outlook:
The odds probably strongly favor Scott having a very minimal market, perhaps another veteran minimum qualifying contract. The Steelers, however, often like to flip original minimum-signing contributors into two- or three-year contracts of modest value. They did that recently with Arthur Maulet, Miles Killebrew, and Montravius Adams, for example.
With the offensive line depth being relatively thin, it wouldn’t be a total shock if Pittsburgh does offer him a bit more than the minimum on a multi-year contract. It’s likely he was also an asset in helping to translate Meyer’s system because of his experience in it, so that has value as well.
Regardless of what they do with Scott, it shouldn’t move the needle with respect to any efforts to upgrade the offensive line. Even if they were to sign him to a more-than-minimum deal, it wouldn’t be such that they couldn’t cut him with minimal dead cap. If he is one of the nine best linemen for the team come September, fine. If not, he can likely be retained on the practice squad.
