The Pittsburgh Steelers aren’t in Super Bowl 58. But if you want to live vicariously through the Kansas City Chiefs and San Francisco 49ers, the two teams playing in Las Vegas February 11, their rosters are littered with ex-Steelers. Here are the former Steelers who will be in Super Bowl LVIII.
AFC – Kansas City Chiefs
DL Isaiah Buggs (Practice Squad)
A Steelers’ sixth round pick in 2019, Buggs struggled to find his footing in Pittsburgh. With their defensive line depleted by injuries in 2021, Buggs started in six games but struggled with his consistency, technique, and mental processing. His biggest moment came stopping Ravens’ QB Lamar Jackson on a fourth down to help propel the Steelers to victory.
Now, Buggs’ team has bested Baltimore again and are headed to the Super Bowl. Buggs began the year with one of the two final teams in the NFC, the Detroit Lions, but was released late in the season and scooped up by the Chiefs. He’s yet to appear in a game this season for Kansas City and isn’t likely to dress for the big game two weeks from now. Still, he’s in line to receive a ring.
QB Chris Oladokun (Practice Squad)
Pittsburgh’s final selection of the 2022 draft, a showcase that began and ended by taking quarterbacks. The Steelers’ fourth-stringer in camp, reps were nearly impossible to come by as Mitch Trubisky, Kenny Pickett, and Mason Rudolph got all the chances they could receive. Oladokun didn’t even make it to final cutdowns before being released, a miss even by seventh round standards.
He landed with the Chiefs at the end of August, winning a ring as a rookie. Now, he’ll try to add some more jewelry. Though he should remain on the practice squad, coaches recently praised him for mimicking mobile quarterbacks on scout team. You want to go to the Super Bowl, just have an Oladokun on your roster.
Had Baltimore advanced, CB Arthur Maulet and WR Dan Chisena would’ve made their appearance on the big stage.
NFC – San Francisco 49ers
WR Ray-Ray McCloud
McCloud’s career was revived in Pittsburgh, a mid-camp add who made the 53 thanks to a live kick return drill touchdown during the team’s 2020 camp, extra aggressive because of the pandemic wiping out the preseason. He spent two seasons as the Steelers’ primary kick and punt returner, leading the NFL in punt returns and yardage in 2021.
Perhaps the Steelers would’ve welcomed him back but the 49ers offered him good money to head out West. His role stayed the same though he was worked into their offense more effectively, recording his first NFL touchdown in 2022. Injuries hampered him this year but he still served as the team’s leading return man with a handful of receptions and rushes mixed in.
DT Javon Hargrave
The most notable ex-Steeler playing in Las Vegas, Pittsburgh took the rare gamble on an early round small schooler, making Hargrave their choice in the third round of the 2016 NFL Draft. Hargrave quickly found the field and excelled. Limited by Pittsburgh’s 3-4 system that capped a nose tackle’s snaps, and sandwiched in the middle of Cam Heyward and Stephon Tuitt, Hargrave couldn’t maximize his talent but still flashed with rare athleticism for his squatty frame.
He signed with the Philadelphia Eagles ahead of the 2020 season and balled out in his contract year, exploding for 11 sacks in 2022. That led to a mega payday by the 49ers, a four-year, $84 million deal. He picked up seven sacks and his second Pro Bowl this year in San Francisco. Hargrave once commented he chose the 49ers over the Cleveland Browns, mostly because he didn’t want Steelers’ fans to hate him. Talk about the right choice. It’s a good day to be Javon Hargrave. Today, tomorrow, and maybe the rest, depending on how things go February 11.
OG Jesse Davis (Practice Squad)
You’d be forgiven if you forgot about Davis’ time in Pittsburgh. Traded over from the Minnesota Vikings shortly before the 2022 season began, Davis was added to the Steelers’ roster as veteran and potentially versatile o-line depth. But Pittsburgh’s front five stayed remarkably healthy, the same group in all 17 games, leaving Davis to watch from the sidelines all year. A goose egg of offensive snaps with just 16 on special teams.
Signed by the 49ers on Halloween, he’s yet to play an offensive snap and only appeared in one game, logging five snaps on the field goal unit.
If the Detroit Lions held on, DT Tyson Alualu and CB Cam Sutton would’ve been headed to the Super Bowl.
