There are still a number of items on the agenda for the Pittsburgh Steelers entering training camp, questions to answer. At least a handful of starting jobs are set in something less long-lasting than stone, let’s say, and one of them is the strong safety position following the departure of five-year starter Terrell Edmunds.
Yet numerous times this offseason, we’ve seen hints of one candidate being favored over the other. At least in my perambulations around Steeler Nation, they have been leaning increasingly toward Keanu Neal over Damontae Kazee.
Such speculation was even featured on the team’s YouTube channel via a training camp preview video segment featuring KDKA personalities such as Bob Pompeani, Charlie Batch, and Rich Walsh, with Neal projected to replace Edmunds. Mike DeFabo of The Athletic appears to agree.
“Neal looks to have the inside track”, he wrote about who would start in the Steelers’ base 3-4 front. “His ability to play a physical style in the box makes him a stylistic complement to Minkah Fitzpatrick”. He did allow for the possibility of a mix based on opponent as well, which I’m guessing is not something the coaching staff particularly wants to get involved in.
But as he also pointed out, we could be seeing both of them on the field together, as the Steelers were beginning to employ a three-safety package in the second half of last season after Kazee returned from a fractured forearm.
“When the Steelers are in sub packages, they might need to tap into Neal’s experience playing linebacker”, he wrote. “In many instances, Neal will play the same role Edmunds did last year as the dime linebacker, with Kazee also on the field in a package that features three safeties”.
If Neal does end up being the primary starter at strong safety, it will be an interesting decision for multiple reasons. For one, Kazee has been with the team longer and knows the scheme better. He is also being paid more than Neal. And in their many years as teammates in Atlanta and later Dallas, Kazee has tended to be ahead of Neal whenever they weren’t starting alongside one another.
For all of the speculation that’s been out there, I can only hope that there isn’t actually an “answer” yet. You’re in training camp, you might as well let the answer come to you through what happens on the field. Both Neal and Kazee should get time working with Fitzpatrick on the back end. Whoever he’s more comfortable with should have a distinct advantage.
But this really isn’t such a bad problem to have, at the end of the day. While neither Kazee nor Neal are going to be the next Ryan Clark, I do believe that either could be a sufficient yet affordable option, and having two of them means both quality depth and quality sub-packages.
