The Pittsburgh Steelers have a large issue on the defensive side of the ball following their loss to the Indianapolis Colts on Saturday. In the second quarter, S Damontae Kazee was ejected for a hit that concussed WR Michael Pittman Jr. and was subsequently suspended for the remainder of the season by the NFL. One play later, S Minkah Fitzpatrick was injured. He could not return to that game and has already ruled out for this Saturday’s game against the visiting Cincinnati Bengals. With Keanu Neal and Elijah Riley already on IR, that leaves the safety room in a precarious situation.
The Steelers have been trying to restock the shelves as well as you can this late into the season. They signed veteran S Eric Rowe to the practice squad a month ago. On Monday, Tomlin said Rowe is in “strong consideration” for playing time this week. So what kind of player are the Steelers getting in Rowe? Former New England Patriots CB Devin McCourty joined Brian Batko of the Pittsburgh Post Gazette on his weekly YouTube podcast Chipped Ham and Football and talked about his former teammate.
“Really good versatility,” McCourty said. “Came in the league as a corner in Philadelphia. Came to New England, played corner his whole three years in New England. Then went down to Miami and switched over to safety. So think of a guy who always had kind of a safety build, 6-2 to 6-3ish, about 205, 210 (pounds), long arms.”
Rowe was selected by the Philadelphia Eagles in the second round of the 2015 NFL Draft. He became a full-time starter for them by Week 13 of his rookie season but was traded to the New England Patriots just prior to the start of the 2016 season. He spent the remainder of his rookie contract there playing primarily slot corner and winning two Super Bowls before signing with the Miami Dolphins in free agency in 2019. The Dolphins converted him to safety, and he has played the position ever since. He signed a one-year contract with the Carolina Panthers in free agency this past offseason but failed to make the 53-man roster and circled back to their practice squad before being released on Sept. 19.
“I think he’ll really fit the mold of more of a Minkah Fitzpatrick role with Minkah being out,” McCourty said. “Can play deep, but I think has really good instincts of coming down, covering tight ends, being more of a robber-type of player. Will come up and tackle you, a physical player.”
The Steelers have been sorely lacking a player who can cover tight ends with the attrition they have suffered throughout the season. First at the inside linebacker position, and now at safety. McCourty is suggesting that Rowe could help be a solution to that problem. Just how ready can he be only having been with the team for a month? McCourty thinks he should be good to go.
“He should as a veteran understand the defense pretty well and go out there and be able to kind of, not step right into those guys’ shoes and play at the level they’re at…but I think he should have a standard and a level of play that’s going to be higher than some young guy who hasn’t had much NFL experience,” McCourty said. “I think E Rowe can come in there and really calm things down.”
In eight NFL seasons, Rowe has appeared in 100 games, starting 56 of them. He has 381 combined tackles, 272 solo tackles, seven tackles for loss, two sacks, six forced fumbles, and five interceptions. His stat line isn’t gaudy for how long he has been in the league, but the Steelers need a veteran presence back there right now and it seems like Rowe has a chance to provide that for them.
