Now that the Pittsburgh Steelers’ 2023 season is getting underway after the team finished above .500 but failing to make the postseason last year, we turn our attention to the next chapter of Steelers football and everything that entails. One thing that it means is that some stock evaluations are going to start taking on more specific contexts as we get into the season, reflecting more immediate plusses and minus rather than trends over long periods. The nature of the evaluation, whether short-term or long-term, will be noted in the reasoning section below.
Player: CB Darius Rush
Stock Value: Purchased
Reasoning: In a move corresponding to the release of veteran CB Desmond King II, the Steelers announced the signing of rookie CB Darius Rush from the Kansas City Chiefs’ practice squad. A fifth-round pick of the Indianapolis Colts, he now finds himself on his third different team in two months.
If the Steelers acquire a player, you can safely bet that there must have been some prior connection to speak of. In the case of rookie CB Darius Rush, it was a notable Combine meeting with head coach Mike Tomlin, which the defender described as “so surreal”.
Now, Pittsburgh had plenty of opportunity to acquire him previously, if it wanted. Drafted in the fifth round by the Indianapolis Colts—admittedly, the Steelers had no draft picks between 132 and 241—he was waived at the end of August. It was the Kansas City Chiefs, the defending Super Bowl champions, who successfully claimed him. The Steelers would have had a higher priority waiver claim if only they submitted one.
Instead, they signed veteran Desmond King II to try to add to the defensive backfield room. For whatever reason, which has not yet been elaborated upon, they decided that the pairing ultimately did not work out, at which point they turned to Rush.
King played a total of one defensive snap, on which the Baltimore Ravens scored a rushing touchdown, prior to his release earlier this week. It probably says something, especially given the alternatives, that the Steelers were not keen to get him on the field prior to his release.
Not that we should anticipate Rush suddenly playing on defense. No, the change we should be expecting is the continued expansion of their own rookie’s role in Joey Porter Jr. Rush will probably have effectively a redshirt year with Pittsburgh, especially now that the roster is getting healthy and there won’t be so many open gameday slots. If he does dress, it will be to contribute on special teams.
But he is an interesting prospect with good size and speed. He comes into the league with some growing to do, particularly with respect to adapting to NFL rules—a problem not unfamiliar to Porter, for that matter. And who knows what the future holds? Perhaps the Steelers are successful in nurturing his talent and he becomes a contributor for them down the line.
