The Steelers are now back at the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex, facing down a long regular season that looks a lot more promising given how things have gone leading up to it. Finishing just above .500 last year, they anticipate being able to compete with any team in the league this season with second-year QB Kenny Pickett leading the way.
They’ve done a great deal to address what they identified as their shortcomings during the offseason, which included addressing the offensive and defensive lines as well as the secondary and the inside linebacker room, which is nearly entirely different from last year. The results have been positive so far.
Even well into the regular season and beyond, there are going to be plenty of questions that need answered. When will the core rookies get to play, or even start? Is the depth sufficient where they upgraded? Can they stand toe-to-toe with the Bengals and the other top teams in the league? We’ll try to frame the conversation in relevant ways as long as you stick with us throughout the season, as we have for many years.
Question: How will Keeanu Benton’s playing time be affected by Montravius Adams’ return?
For whatever it’s worth, the Steelers continue to list Montravius Adams as their starting nose tackle entering tomorrow’s game against the Arizona Cardinals. The veteran has been sidelined for the past few weeks due to injury, during which time rookie Keeanu Benton has really stepped up in his absence.
Benton has 12 tackles over the last three games as well as a couple of quarterback hits and a batted pass at the line of scrimmage. He has played 154 snaps over the past four games, never dipping below 50 percent for the game, though he only played 22 (51 percent of the snaps) last week. That was largely due to the Cincinnati Bengals abandoning the run.
While the second-round draft pick has often flashed this year, even prior to his latest opportunity due to injury, Adams deserves a good deal of credit. He’s had his best season to date as a complete player, and his status as a starter was more than just deferential to his veteran status.
Still, given how Benton has stepped up in the past month and the inevitability of his being an even bigger contributor in the future, it’s fair to ask where we are now. It should be noted that Adams was listed as questionable after being limited in practice on Friday, but that’s probably because the NFL in their infinite genius decided that the probable designation is a waste of time. The depth chart says one thing, but what will we see on the field? Might Benton start anyway? Will he play more snaps?
It’s a good problem to have, at least on paper, because Adams has held up his end whenever he has been on the field this season. At the same time, you don’t want to take Benton off the field, and you certainly don’t want to do anything that might stunt his growth. But he was already playing a reasonable amount before all of this. How much will he play when Adams returns—whether it’s this week or not?
