The Pittsburgh Steelers’ 2023 offseason practices concluded in the middle of June and next up is their annual training camp, which gets underway in late July at Saint Vincent College in Latrobe. Ahead of training camp, we will preview the team’s offseason roster three players at a time for you as part of a 30-post series. This Steelers roster preview, which includes outlooks for every player, will be done alphabetically by last name to make it easy to follow.
The next three players we will preview ahead of Steelers 2023 training camp are Manny Jones, Damontae Kazee, and Miles Killebrew.
DE Manny Jones: The Steelers claimed Jones off waivers from the Arizona Cardinals in the middle of May and that move was mainly due to the team losing defensive end Renell Wren for the season due to an injury. Jones, a Colorado State product, originally signed with the Cardinals in 2022 as an undrafted free agent. He started the 2022 regular season on Arizona practice squad, but he was elevated to their active/inactive roster for four games in total. He managed to register six total tackles last season in the 59 defensive snaps that he played in 2022. He also played nine snaps on special teams in those four games. At his 2022 pro day, Jones reportedly measured in at 6025, 280-pounds.
Outlook: The Steelers have quite a few players ahead of Jones on the team’s depth chart and that means Jones will have an extremely tough road when it comes to his 53-man roster chances this summer. Assuming Jones can stick around through training camp and the preseason, his best shot at remaining in Pittsburgh past the final round of roster cuts would be as a practice squad player. Being able to accomplish that would likely be a huge feat overall.
S Damontae Kazee: 2022 was Kazee’s first season with the Steelers and he missed the first eight games of it due to a wrist injury and a suspension. However, once Kazee did get on the field after the Steelers’ bye week, he played well and mainly in a free safety alignment. In total, Kazee registered 20 total tackles in 2022 to go along with two interceptions and two passes defensed. He played 273 total defensive snaps in 2022 in addition to 58 more on special teams. He was targeted 11 times in pass coverage in 2022 and allowed seven receptions for 79 yards.
He was also not charged with a missed tackle in 2022, according to Pro Football Reference stats. The Steelers re-signed Kazee to a two-year contract earlier in the offseason.
Outlook: Kazee should undoubtedly be on the Steelers 53-man roster in 2023 and his defensive role should be quite similar to the one he had in 2022. The Steelers did add another veteran safety this offseason in Keanu Neal, and he is more of a strong safety-type, meaning more of a box defender. Kazee could see most of his playing time in 2023 as a sub package player and especially on passing downs.
While he did not play much in the slot for the Steelers in 2022, he has logged quite a few snaps at that position over the course of his career. The Steelers defense could have used Kazee during the first half of last season. He’s a solid tackler and playing some right out of the chute in 2023 could pay dividends. He figures to have at least two interceptions in 2023 and possibly even more.
S Miles Killebrew: The 2022 season was Killebrew’s second in Pittsburgh with the Steelers and the special teams ace didn’t equal his 2021 output in that phase of the game. In total, Killebrew played just 13 defensive snaps in 2022 in addition to a healthy 290 more on special teams, where he was a team captain. All told, Killebrew registered four total tackles in 2022 and all of them came on special teams. In 2021, he had seven total special teams tackles and two blocked punts.
Outlook: Killebrew’s primary role in Pittsburgh since his arrival in 2021 has been him serving as a core special teams player. He’s not much an asset as far as depth on defense goes so for him to stick around again in 2023, he’ll need to make himself invaluable on special teams once again and especially with him set to earn $2 million this coming season. Either he’ll be the Steelers special teams captain again in 2023, or he’ll be cut come Week 1. It’s really that cut and dry with him.
Previous Posts In This Series:
90 In 30: Steelers 2023 Training Camp Preview Series: Montravius Adams, Spencer Anderson, Calvin Austin III
90 In 30: Steelers 2023 Training Camp Preview Series: Luq Barcoo, Keeanu Benton, Chris Boswell
90 In 30: Steelers 2023 Training Camp Preview Series: Miles Boykin, Ja’Marcus Bradley, Hakeem Butler
90 In 30: Steelers 2023 Training Camp Preview Series: Jordan Byrd, Dan Chisena, Le’Raven Clark
90 In 30: Steelers 2023 Training Camp Preview Series: Mason Cole, Dylan Cook, James Daniels
90 In 30: Steelers 2023 Training Camp Preview Series: Duke Dawson, Kevin Dotson, William Dunkle
90 In 30: Steelers 2023 Training Camp Preview Series: Breiden Fehoko, Dez Fitzpatrick, Minkah Fitzpatrick
90 In 30: Steelers 2023 Training Camp Preview Series: Pat Freiermuth, Zach Gentry, Markus Golden
90 In 30: Steelers 2023 Training Camp Preview Series: Alfonzo Graham, Kendrick Green, Darius Hagans
90 In 30: Steelers 2023 Training Camp Preview Series: Madre Harper, Najee Harris, Pressley Harvin III
90 In 30: Steelers 2023 Training Camp Preview Series: Nate Herbig, Nick Herbig, Cameron Heyward
90 In 30: Steelers 2023 Training Camp Preview Series: Connor Heyward, Alex Highsmith, Cole Holcomb
90 In 30: Steelers 2023 Training Camp Preview Series: Jason Huntley, Diontae Johnson, Broderick Jones
