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 Tanner Morgan, Tanner Muse, and Toby Ndukwe.
QB Tanner Morgan: An undrafted free agent this year out of Minnesota, Morgan was one of the Steelers’ six original undrafted free agents signed earlier in the offseason. In his five college seasons, Morgan completed 661 of his 1,063 total pass attempts for 9,454 yards with 65 touchdowns and 32 interceptions in 51 total games. Thirty of those 65 touchdown passes came during the 2019 season. He also rushed for eight touchdowns during his college career and even punted twice.
Outlook: As the fourth quarterback on the offseason roster, Morgan isn’t likely going to get a lot of reps once training camp gets underway. In fact, he will be lucky to see any preseason game snaps as well, barring any injuries occurring to any of the three quarterbacks ahead of him. It’s not like the team’s third-string quarterback Mason Rudolph is expensive as he signed for the minimum. In short, Morgan isn’t likely to be around after the final round of cuts are made unless one of Kenny Pickett, Mitch Trubisky or Rudolph gets injured.
ILB Tanner Muse: The Steelers signed Muse for the minimum as an unrestricted free agent this past season. Last season with the Seattle Seahawks, Muse, who was selected in the third round of the 2020 NFL Draft by the Las Vegas Raiders out of Clemson, registered 16 total tackles and one pass defensed in 17 games played. He logged just 80 snaps on defense in 2022 with the Seahawks and another 325 on special teams. For his NFL career, Muse has played in 23 games and has 20 tackles and one pass defensed.
Outlook: To date, Muse has been more of a special teams asset than anything else. Muse is essentially another version of Steelers safety Miles Killebrew with the only difference being that he plays inside linebacker. Should the Steelers keep five inside linebackers on their Week 1 53-man roster, Muse will surely have a shot at landing one of those spots. Quite honestly, he might be battling fellow veteran inside linebacker Nick Kwiatkoski for one spot.
Whomever shows to be the better special teams player of the two will likely win out. Should Muse not survive the final cutdown, there’s a chance he circles back to the practice squad come the start of the 2023 regular season.
OLB Toby Ndukwe: The Steelers signed Ndukwe as an undrafted free agent after he attended the team’s annual rookie minicamp on a tryout basis. At Sam Houston State in 2022, Ndukwe registered 28 total tackles, nine for loss, a half a sack, one interception and three defensed passes.
His first four years of college football were played at SMU, and in 43 games played he registered 26 total tackles, six for loss, 4.5 sacks and a fumble recovery. At his 2022 Pro Day, Ndukwe reportedly measured in at 6012, 237-pounds with 33 3/4-inch arms.
Outlook: The Steelers’ outside linebacker depth chart includes the likes of T.J. Watt, Alex Highsmith, Markus Golden, and rookie draft pick Nick Herbig. That leaves Ndukwe, along with a few other young players at that position, all likely battling for practice squad spots. Included in those other young outside linebackers are Quincy Roche and David Perales, who was one of the Steelers’ six original undrafted free agents signed this year.
So, it’s going to be a tough road for Ndukwe this summer. He can probably help his practice squad cause by showing a lot on special teams once training camp gets underway. He will be doing good to stay on the roster until the final cuts are made.
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
90 In 30: Steelers 2023 Training Camp Preview Series: Manny Jones, Damontae Kazee, Miles Killebrew
90 In 30: Steelers 2023 Training Camp Preview Series: Christian Kuntz, Nick Kwiatkoski, DeMarvin Leal
90 In 30: Steelers 2023 Training Camp Preview Series: Isaiahh Loudermilk, Braden Mann, Jonathan Marshall
90 In 30: Steelers 2023 Training Camp Preview Series: Ryan McCollum, Anthony McFarland Jr., Dan Moore Jr.
