Player: OL Lecitus Smith
Stock Value: Sold
Reasoning: If you never bothered to learn the name of Lecitus Smith, now you won’t have to worry about it. As of yesterday, he is no longer a member of the Pittsburgh Steelers, the team having waived him. A veteran offensive lineman albeit with minimal playing time, they claimed him off waivers earlier his year. In position to potentially compete for depth, he didn’t even make it to OTAs.
For one reason or another, the Steelers decided they didn’t need to see Lecitus Smith in practice before waiving him. Having previously claimed him off waivers, they never even got him on the field. A veteran offensive lineman, he could have legitimately competed for a reserve spot along the offensive line.
That’s more due to the Steelers’ free agency departures along the offensive line than to Lecitus Smith, though. Since last season, they have lost Dan Moore Jr., James Daniels, and Nate Herbig. While they re-signed Calvin Anderson and Max Scharping, nobody surprisingly held a party.
Granted, Smith is no more distinguished than Anderson and Scharping, but the Steelers need depth. Smith is the most notable lineman they added this offseason, which says a lot about their additions. While they believe they have a strong staring offensive line in place, depth there is often critical.
Granted, Lecitus Smith has only played 214 snaps in his NFL career, 209 of which came in 2022. He played five snaps last season, though, so at least that’s something. Anderson played 11, in comparison, Scharping seven.
Prior to waiving Smith, the Steelers did sign Gareth Wilson after rookie minicamp tryouts. It’s worth noting, however, that they did not need to open up a roster spot. Even with Smith, they had 90 players on their roster. And as an International Player, they have a roster exemption for Julius Welschof.
After releasing Lecitus Smith, then, the Steelers now have two open roster spots. Since they didn’t need one, I wouldn’t take this as an indication that Aaron Rodgers is about to sign. Then again, sometimes professional teams don’t realize things they should realize. Maybe they forgot that Welschof doesn’t count.
With the new league year underway and the Steelers turning their roster over, it’s once again time to “take stock”. It took a while, but we finally saw some of that change the team talked about after the season ended. Certainly, the move to trade for WR DK Metcalf qualifies as a change, not to mention the accompanying contract.
There is still a long way to go before we know what this Steelers team is going to look like. The dust is settled on both free agency and the 2025 NFL Draft. What other moves might the team make, perhaps unexpected acquisitions or departures? If they traded for one player, they could certainly trade for another, or trade one away. This is a Steelers team starving for postseason success, but how desperate are they for a playoff win in 2025?
