Sixth-round pick Ryan Watts is the caveat behind the fact that the Pittsburgh Steelers retained their entire 2024 draft class. The Texas DB never spent a second on the 53-man roster, placed on the Reserve/Injured List before the season started. Technically, fellow sixth-rounder, DL Logan Lee, joins him on IR, but he spent time on the 53 and can return this season.
Watts suffered an injury in the Steelers’ final preseason game, an unfortunate culmination to an encouraging offseason. Considering the fact that the Steelers still have Jalen Elliott on the roster, we can reasonably surmise that he would have made the team. The way his teammates continue to talk about him only makes it more obvious.
“He has the intangibles physically. He has it athletically”, S DeShon Elliott said of Watts on Steelers Nation Radio. “It’ll be in between the ears. Obviously that transition can be hard, [number] one, and two, he’s having to sit out the rest of the season because of his injury”.
Elliott is referring to the fact that the Steelers shifted Ryan Watts from college cornerback to NFL safety. While they worked him a bit as a dime back, they clearly viewed him as a safety. And it’s no surprise that the other safeties on the roster, not just Elliott but also Damontae Kazee, took him under their wing. They still have his back, even if he has no chance of contributing this year.
“The thing is that Ryan is a very smart player”, Elliott said. “He was catching on at safety very well, very fast. It’s very disappointing. Eventually, he will get a chance to get back out there and get to it. But we’ll miss him. He’ll be okay”.
The Steelers recently addressed their safety depth by signing Terrell Edmunds off the Jacksonville Jaguars’ practice squad. Edmunds spent five years in Pittsburgh as a starter, so he has both the knowledge and experience to contribute. In other words, they don’t really need Watts right now.
I do think that the Steelers really like him, though, even if there is no obvious role in his future. Then again, the defensive back room could look pretty different next year, especially at safety. While Minkah Fitzpatrick and Elliott should be back, I don’t know about Kazee or Edmunds. Ryan Watts could be a factor in for 2025, but he won’t have an opportunity to state his case until next year.
