Throughout the first two seasons of his career in the NFL, Tanner Muse has been quite the special teams standout, recording 425 special teams snaps in two seasons with the Seattle Seahawks.
Now a member of the Pittsburgh Steelers, Muse — a former college safety turned NFL linebacker — knows where his bread is buttered. However, the Clemson product knows that with the situation in Pittsburgh his number could be called on defensively as well, which is something he’s aiming to be ready for entering the 2023 season.
Speaking with the Tribune-Review‘s Chris Adamski following an Organized Team Activities practice at the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex on the South Side in early June, Muse said that while he knows special teams is how he makes the roster, he’s going to do everything he can to be ready when the time comes for him to have a role defensively.
“(Special) teams will be my thing,” Muse said to Adamski, according to original reporting from the Tribune-Review. “And I think for defense I just have to prove my worth and be consistently in the right place. And if I can do that and gain their trust, then more defensive opportunities will come.
“We already have solidified guys, and it’s my job just to be ready when my number is called.”
Muse was a third-round pick by the Las Vegas Raiders in 2020, but he was released before ever playing a down for the Raiders after making the transition from safety to linebacker.
He spent the last two seasons with the Seahawks, mostly functioning as a core special teamer, where he has 20 tackles over the past two years. However, Muse has just 80 defensive snaps in his two seasons in the NFL, with all 80 coming last season. Muse played 19 defensive snaps in the Week 14 loss to San Francisco, 20 snaps in Week 16 against the New York Jets and 38 snaps in the season finale against the Los Angeles Rams.
Muse then played 68% of the defensive snaps for Seattle in the Wild Card Round loss to the 49ers, playing a career-high 44 defensive snaps and finishing with four tackles.
His experience defensively is very limited, but he was around the football quite a bit when on the field defensively and made some plays overall.
In Pittsburgh, Muse is seemingly the next man up behind fellow free agent addition Cole Holcomb at the MACK linebacker spot in the Steelers’ 3-4 defense. He’s a good athlete overall for the position and continues to learn the nuances and understand assignments defensively at linebacker as opposed to safety.
Muse tested off the charts during the 2020 pre-draft process. He had a fantastic 2020 NFL Scouting Combine after measuring in at 6020, 227 pounds. He ran his 40-yard dash in 4.41 seconds, did 20 reps on the bench, posted a vertical jump of 34.5 inches, and a broad jump of 10’4″. At his Clemson Pro Day, Muse posted a short-shuttle time of 4.12 seconds and a three-cone time of 6.84 seconds.
Depth is a major concern for the Steelers behind Holcomb and free agent addition Elandon Roberts. Muse and second-year pro Mark Robinson — a seventh-round pick in 2022 — are the only other linebackers with NFL experience on the roster.
