Just a few short days after signing with the Pittsburgh Steelers as a free agent, Kwon Alexander is already leaving his mark.
With pads coming on and having a chance to showcase his skill set, Alexander is turning heads and garnering plenty of attention from head coach Mike Tomlin.
Speaking with reporters Wednesday following the second padded practice of training camp, Tomlin praised Alexander, stating that he’s showing in a hurry that he’s not new to environments like training camp, and that he’s had to tell him “whoa” a few times, compared to “sic ’em,” as Tomlin likes to say.
“Man, I tell you, he’s a veteran. He might be new to us, but he’s not new to environments like this or to professional football. And it’s showing and showing in a hurry,” Tomlin said regarding Alexander, according to video via Steelers.com. “I’d rather say ‘whoa’ than ‘sic ’em.’ … Looks like it thus far, but that’s my job. I’ll do it.”
Hitting the ground running while learning the playbook on the fly has helped Alexander get acclimated to the Steelers’ defensive scheme. Practicing Sunday got him off to a good start. Since the pads came on Tuesday Alexander has been able to lean on his physicality and just play football, flying around making plays, certainly catching the eye of Tomlin in the process.
Though Pittsburgh is set to rely on its defense in an old-school, physical approach to the game, the linebacker room in the Steel City was a major question mark entering training camp. While Alexander certainly helps in that area, shoring up the depth chart at inside linebacker still remains a priority with so many new faces.
Alexander’s role has varied a bit in more recent years. For most of his career, he was an every-down defender routinely clocking 90-plus percent of the snaps in games for which he was healthy. He has not had that type of role for the past two seasons; in fact, he played under 50 percent of the defensive snaps for the New York Jets in 2022 even though he played in every game, starting 12.
That doesn’t mean he can’t or won’t get that kind of playing time in Pittsburgh, if he earns it. He is arguably as well-rounded and athletic as any other linebacker on the roster, though Holcomb has been looking good so far in training camp and would still likely be the every-down backer.
Alexander has a ton of experience though. Alexander started 86 career games and made one Pro Bowl prior to signing with the Steelers. He started 12 games for the Jets last season, registering 69 tackles. Still under 30 — he turns 29 on Aug. 3 — with athleticism and coverage ability, Alexander has eight career interceptions.
