Entering his sixth season in the NFL, inside linebacker Elandon Roberts is well established at this point.
He knows his strengths, knows his weaknesses, and knows what he needs to do on any given play, even if the terminology might be different from one team to the next.
Despite being that established veteran presence, Roberts is still taking preseason action rather seriously.
Speaking with the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review’s Tim Benz for his podcast “Breakfast with Benz,” Roberts stated that he’s using the snaps in the preseason as a learning experience while getting live NFL action to try and work the kinks out.
“I just try to use the preseason. It’s just to prepare me, the defense, the linebacker room, for the first game of the year. I don’t look at it as, ‘oh man, I can’t believe I’m playing in this’ or this and that,” Roberts said, according to audio via the Tribune-Review. “I look at it as in taking an approach from a game time situation to get better at things that I need to get better at or using it to getting things better as a whole defense, like in game adjustments. Certain teams, they want to come into a game with a certain flavor, figuring out what’s the flavor of the day and just going out there and execute. So, I use the preseason for that. I think it’s a great thing to be able to iron out all your kinks.”
That is quite a refreshing thing to hear from a veteran who will play a prominent role on the Steelers in 2023.
Roberts was brought in as a free agent on a two-year deal to try and help solidify the inside linebacker room, which underwent significant change this offseason. Gone are the likes of Myles Jack, Devin Bush and Robert Spillane, while Roberts, Cole Holcomb and Kwon Alexander are just a few that the Steelers brought in to try and change the culture and identity at the position.
While Roberts states that he wants to use the preseason as an opportunity to work out the kinks and get better at the things he wants to improve on, he’s not gotten much run through the first two games of the preseason for the Steelers, playing just 14 snaps.
Those 14 snaps have been strong ones overall as Roberts grades out at an 81.8 in the preseason defensively for the Steelers, including 79.9 against the run. He’s brought that physical presence coming downhill, laying the wood to linemen in the hole a few times.
Roberts wants the reps in the preseason, but chances are he’s not going to get many on Thursday night, even with head coach Mike Tomlin stating that all healthy players will play against the Atlanta Falcons inside Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Chances are, Roberts will be limited to a series or two and then will be out of the game again, much like the other veteran inside linebackers like Holcomb and Alexander.
Pittsburgh knows what it has at the position entering the 2023 season. The kinks will continue to be worked out in practice and early on in the season, but the Steelers are comfortable with the “varsity” level group that they have for the first time in a long time at the position, preseason reps or not.
