Buy Or Sell: Montravius Adams’ roster spot is not safe despite his new contract.
Explanation: The Pittsburgh Steelers re-signed NT Montravius Adams to a two-year, $5.25 million contract this offseason. That is a sizeable investment, and it does include a signing bonus of $1.75 million. To my knowledge, I don’t recall the Steelers ever walking out of a signing bonus that large right away. But they also set up the defensive line room to compete, and they can absorb that loss.
Buy:
The consistent focus in roster-building under Omar Khan as general manager has been competition. Montravius Adams may have the inside track for a roster spot, but he will still have to earn it. He already lost his starting job last year to Keeanu Benton. If the Steelers like Breiden Fehoko more this year, for example, he could be in trouble.
A $1.75 million signing bonus is nothing to sneeze at, but teams have walked away from more than that before. And the Steelers could keep Adams on the practice squad if they opt not to carry him on the 53-man roster. As a vested veteran, he is not subject to waivers, and they could continue paying him his regular salary. Then you still have the player, even if the signing bonus now reads as “dead money”, a semantic distinction.
Sell:
Put simply, this is not happening. The Steelers didn’t give Montravius Adams $3 million this year just to “compete”. They view him as their top rotational player, and really, he deserves it. Apologies to Breiden Fehoko, but Adams is a much more versatile defender who can play the run and the pass.
The Steelers have competition, but it’s mostly at defensive end. They have had Fehoko around for a year already and he never even played a snap last year. That’s because they know that they already have their nose tackles, and Adams is one of them. He is their new Tyson Alualu.
With the Steelers’ 2023 season in the rearview mirror following a disappointing year that came up short in the playoffs once again, it’s time to start asking more questions. Questions about the team’s future in 2024 and beyond. Questions about The Standard.
The rookie class of a year ago was on the whole impressive, but they need to step up into staple starters in 2024. And they likely need a strong influx of talent in both free agency and in the 2024 NFL Draft yet again. In addition to a revisitation of the coaching staff.
These sorts of uncertainties are what I will look to address in our Buy or Sell series. In each installment, I will introduce a topic statement and weigh some of the arguments for either buying it (meaning that you agree with it or expect it to be true) or selling it (meaning you disagree with it or expect it to be false).
