The Pittsburgh Steelers had a decision to make this offseason. Was the Larry Ogunjobi that they saw in 2022 the same player that they were going to get if they re-signed him? Or would they be getting something better than that after he played while working his way back from a foot injury?
My guess is that they wagered the latter, re-signing Ogunjobi to a three-year contract worth nearly $30 million. And according to accounts from OTAs, he’s already looking like he is primed for the best season of his career, even simply from a physical point of view.
“Have you not seen him? Have you not seen the transformation?“, second-year defensive lineman DeMarvin Leal asked reporters yesterday when asked to explain why he called his elder veteran position member “Scary Larry”.
A 2017 third-round draft pick out of Charlotte, Ogunjobi has played for three different teams, all in the AFC North, putting forth his best season in 2021 during his one year with the Cincinnati Bengals. They allowed him to flex his muscles more in that system, something he can also do in Pittsburgh. And now he’s better equipped to do so.
“I think it’s just my work”, he told reporters, via the team’s website, when asked what was enabling to undergo a physical transformation this offseason. “Just being able to train the way I wanted to train, get the things done I wanted to get done. That was really important to me.
“I am just looking forward to hitting the goals I set for myself and being in the best shape of my life and seeing how that looks for me”.
Normally we get the “best shape of his life” line from third parties, but Ogunjobi knows he’s in the best shape of his life. He just got paid, which doesn’t hurt, finally hitting that long-awaited cash-in contract after six years in the league. Now he has to go out there and earn it.
Though he only missed one game in 2022, the defensive lineman’s sack production dipped considerably, managing just one and a half after having seven a year early. Indeed, in the four previous seasons, he topped at least five and a half three times.
But he knows he left some sacks out on the field last year as well. He still had 11 quarterback hits, and his 48 tackles with seven for loss are respectable numbers as well that are pretty much in line with his career body of work.
The Steelers are hoping they can get a little more juice out of Ogunjobi in 2023 and beyond, of course, getting their money’s worth, so to speak. He’s motivated to deliver, but one suspects it’s ultimately an internal motivation. He is just a player who wants to be the best and to win. If you have the physical tools, that mindset will take you pretty far.
