The 2025 season is a crucial one for Steelers DL DeMarvin Leal — perhaps a do-or-die season. Entering the final year of his contract, he has done very little up to this point. While there have been some factors working against him, the NFL doesn’t wait for people. Many thought, or hoped, that last year would be his time to emerge, but it didn’t happen. He didn’t have much opportunity, either.
A third-round pick in the 2022 NFL Draft, DeMarvin Leal is a ‘tweener in the Steelers’ system. He is not the size of a traditional 3-4 defensive end, but they have played him everywhere. In the past, he has embraced his flexibility. They did little with it last season, but then an injury prevented them from trying. He hurt his neck in Week 5 and didn’t play again last year.
“I felt like Leal was gonna make the jump this year and then he got injured,” former Steelers OT Max Starks said recently via the Steelers’ YouTube channel, recounting conversations he had with him during training camp. “You could see DeMarvin was very careful about what he ate. He was like, ‘This is what I need to do, trying to keep myself healthy’. Worrying about weight and whether they’re trying to make fluctuate or not. ‘If I stay this consistent weight, I know I have my explosiveness’. We had a long, in-depth conversation while we were waiting for our pasta at the bar at Saint Vincent.
“You could see that the light clicked on for him. And unfortunately, he just takes the injury and then can’t get back on the field.”
Leal only logged 51 snaps last season, with just 17 in the first three weeks. After playing 22 snaps in Week 4, he seemed to be in for a larger role, but he injured his neck the following game. By then, he had only accumulated four tackles, but it’s too small a sample size to judge.
The Steelers drafted Leal as a 21-year-old, knowing that he had to mature. That is a fitting word to use generally, as he had to grow not only as a professional, but even into his body, and into the Steelers’ system.
Heading into his third season last year, Leal did strike a different note when speaking to Steelers reporters. He acknowledged that he had some growing up to do and was increasingly understanding what it means for football to be his profession rather than simply something that he does.
The Steelers had DeMarvin Leal learning outside linebacker last year, fully leaning into his versatility. Provided that he is healthy for the 2025 season, will they continue to push him in that direction? Or would the best chance of him finding success come from focusing on a single position? It’s not necessarily up to him, and in the final year of his contract, this may also be his last chance.
