With the Pittsburgh Steelers having an off day Monday, they used it to bring in four players for workouts. As reported Monday morning, the Steelers brought in OL Brandon Kipper. According to NFL reporter Aaron Wilson via the NFL transaction wire, the team also tried out three other players: LB Quinton Bell, LB Jonathan Garvin, and DE/OLB Anree Saint-Armour.
Kipper is a versatile lineman from Oregon State who spent time with the Baltimore Ravens earlier this year. Pittsburgh showed interest in him at the NFLPA Bowl. He’s likely on speed dial should the Steelers suffer an offensive line injury, especially considering they only have 14 players currently on their 90-man roster.
Bell is the most notable name of the four. A seventh round pick of the Las Vegas Raiders in 2019 out of Prairie View A&M, the 27-year old Bell has appeared in nine career games. Four of those appearances came last year for the Atlanta Falcons, recording three tackles. He split time playing defense and special teams, logging 61 snaps on the former and 60 with the latter. In 2020, he played 94 snaps on special teams for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Bell was a draftnik favorite with good size at 6033, 238 pounds and elite-level testing, turning in a 4.53 at his Pro Day with a 41-inch vertical and 11’4″ broad jump.
Garvin is also a former seventh round pick, selected by the Green Bay Packers from Miami (FL) in 2020. He’s appeared in 38 games, making one start, with 32 career tackles and 1.5 sacks. A productive EDGE rusher in college, he has good size at 6042, 263 pounds with 34 inch arms and a 36-inch vertical. In 2022, he logged nearly 200 defensive snaps and another 124 on special teams while in 2021, he played 395 defensive snaps. He was released by the Packers on July 28th.
Our Tom Mead wrote a draft profile on Garvin that you can read below, labelling him a pure pass rusher coming out of Miami (FL).
Saint-Armour played his college ball at Georgia Tech where he recorded 11 sacks across four seasons, picking off a pair of passes his senior year. Undrafted, he spent time with the Minnesota Vikings. Since, he’s bounced around the league, playing in the CFL and obscure spring leagues before landing in the USFL with the New Orleans Breakers. He recorded two sacks with the them earlier this year. Lauded for his strength, he weighed in at 6017, 258 pounds with 32 1/4 inch arms coming out of college.
Besides Kipper, Pittsburgh seems to be focusing on EDGE rushers with these tryouts. Rookie Nick Herbig suffered a hip flexor injury over the weekend and failed to practice Sunday. With DeMarvin Leal also missing several days (though he looked close to a return), the Steelers began experimenting with DEs Isaiahh Loudermilk and James Nyamwaya at OLB. Perhaps the team will make a roster move to get a more natural player on the edges.
Pittsburgh is back on the practice field Tuesday and Wednesday for training camp. They’ll hold a closed walkthrough Thursday before their first preseason games kicks off Friday night against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Look for an injury report update in Tuesday’s camp diary.
