As we’ve done in previous years, we’re taking a look at those Pittsburgh Steelers under futures contracts for the 2024 offseason. The ones who spent most if not the entire year on the practice squad and what we can expect from them during training camp and (hopefully) into the regular season. Today, an outlook on OLB David Perales.
David Perales/OLB Fresno State – 6022, 248 lbs.
Though there wasn’t much competition, Perales was my favorite undrafted free agent the Steelers signed following the 2023 class, Omar Khan’s first. Pittsburgh inked only six to contracts but Perales stood out. He had decent size and was big on production, recording 38 tackles for a loss, 23 sacks, and nine forced fumbles.
How does that fall out of the draft? Testing. It was ugly, especially a 40-time that came in at 5.04 at his Pro Day, where the numbers are typically more friendly. Blame it on an ankle injury that plagued him throughout the pre-draft process which, in theory, made him strong value in the undrafted pool.
While some spoke highly of Perales’ training camp, my notes were less enthusiastic. He had a moment or two but was largely invisible throughout thcae summer, though he showed a good motor and the team needed depth. Here’s how we evaluated Perales’ summer.
“Inside stadiums, he was routinely locked up. He looks as slow off the ball as he tested with average hand use and he can’t get off blocks. Per our charting, Perales had 49 pass rush reps in the first two preseason games. He had zero pressures. Pittsburgh likes his effort and maybe he sticks on the practice squad for a bit but there’s not much here.”
He did stick on the practice squad, beating out competition in the way of Quincy Roche and Toby Nduwke. He bounced on and off the team throughout the year, often the first name waived when the Steelers dealt with injury and needed an open spot on the practice squad. Twice during the year, he was cut from the practice squad, often with a gap in-between. Perales was cut on Halloween and wasn’t brought back until mid-December. His second stint away was shorter, about a two-week layoff, brought back when T.J. Watt injured his knee in the regular season finale.
With Pittsburgh generally healthy at outside linebacker throughout the season, Perales never got the call-up. But the Steelers signed him to a Futures deal after their playoff loss, though it didn’t come until the “second wave” of five players with the four others coming from outside the organization.
Markus Golden is a free agent and the Steelers aren’t likely to make a big investment at outside linebacker, potentially cracking the door for Perales. But he’ll need to make more of an impact as a pass rusher if he makes it to his second training camp. Of course, special teams will have a big impact on his roster standing and it would be nice if both the team’s backup outside linebackers could play there. Golden wasn’t that guy, logging 13 special teams snaps the entire year.
