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: ILB Elandon Roberts
Stock Value: Up
Reasoning: The veteran linebacker is proving to be part of the heart of this team, not just the defense. He gutted out a gritty performance playing through a groin injury and delivered impactful plays, including the Steelers’ only sack and a pass defensed that led to an interception, their only takeaway.
You know what? Let’s have at least an ounce of positivity this morning. Just about everything else is going to be routinely negative for the next week, and there will be plenty of negative performances to highlight, but let’s start this post-game series with a positive note.
And there was none more positive than ILB Elandon Roberts. The last man standing in that room following season-ending injuries suffered by Cole Holcomb and Kwon Alexander, he has really stepped up in recent weeks, emerging as an every-down player capable of running the defense.
He missed much of Sunday’s game after suffering a groin injury against the Arizona Cardinals, and the sloppiness of the unit without him was obvious. He was questionable to play, and frankly, I’m surprised that he managed to.
While he declined any opportunity to use his injury as an excuse, he’s got to be hurting. There’s a good chance he got a shot of Toradol before getting out there, but he’ll have a longer break before he has to take the field again.
And the thing is, he didn’t just play. He played extensively, and he played impactfully. Even after recording a pass defensed that resulted in a tipped ball picked off by ILB Mykal Walker, he walked off the field gingerly rather than running into the end zone to celebrate with his teammates. He was hurting.
He also had the Steelers’ only sack on an effective blitz that had him look like he was shot out of a cannon. In all, he finished the game with six tackles, including the sack, of which three were defensive stops, two against the run.
Given that he was able to make it through this game, he should be able to keep toughing it out. He’s a grinder, certainly, and the Steelers really need players like him right now. He had been overlooked a bit for much of the season, but he’s stepping up and even contributing in ways many didn’t expect.
