The Pittsburgh Steelers haven’t made many roster moves recently, even though fans would probably love to see them trade for a wide receiver. Their most recent pickup of Tyler Matakevich might be one of their most underrated moves. Everyone loves talking about quarterbacks and pass rushers and all the flashy parts of the team, but the Steelers are aware of how important it is to have players who do the dirty work. Specifically, the depth players who play a crucial role on special teams. Matakevich should provide a steady, veteran presence to the Steelers, and it seems like he couldn’t be happier to be back.
In a video from Steelers Live on Twitter, Matakevich talked to the media before practice Sunday and was asked how quickly he was ready to come back to Pittsburgh after the Steelers called him.
“There was no hesitation,” Matakevich said. “Just to have the opportunity to come play for Mike Tomlin and Danny Smith and all these great coaches. There was nowhere else I’d rather be. It was honestly such an easy decision for me to come back here.”
Matakevich was previously with the Steelers from 2016-2019, being drafted by them in seventh round. However, he left in free agency in 2020 and has been with the Buffalo Bills since then. Now, he is reunited with his first NFL special teams coach. Matakevich was a core special teams players in his first stint in Pittsburgh, and he should pick that mantle up again this year.
Matakevich spoke about what makes Smith such a good coach, pointing to his great attitude.
“Just how passionate he is. Everything he does, he puts you in the right places to be successful. I think that’s such a good quality to have as a coach, to know your guys, know your personnel,” he said. “By allowing you to be in a spot to be successful, it’s only gonna make the team successful. I think Danny does an unbelievable job with that.”
Smith has been coaching the Steelers’ special teams since 2013, and it’s clear he has the respect from his players. With the kickoff rules changing this year, special teams will become even more important, and having a veteran coach like Smith will help even more. The Steelers are clearly taking that change as seriously as possible and have been trying to stay in front of it since it passed. They signed legendary kickoff return specialist Cordarrelle Patterson almost as soon as the rule was announced.
Now, with Matakevich, it’s clear the Steelers want as many experienced special teams players on their roster as possible. At this point, it would be tough to sign a guy off the street they’d trust more than Matakevich. Along with Patterson and new punter Cameron Johnston, the Steelers have a revamped special teams unit. Hopefully the Steelers can take advantage of the new rules this season.
