The Pittsburgh Steelers had LB Otis Reese in for a tryout according to the NFL’s transaction sheet.
Originally an undrafted free agent out of Ole Miss in 2023, Reese signed with the Tennessee Titans. He was recently cut from their roster after they claimed LB Brian Asamoah.
Despite going undrafted, Reese appeared in 20 games over the past two seasons with the Titans, including five starts. He has 38 total tackles, 20 solo tackles, one tackle for loss, one pass defensed and an interception in his career so far.
Coming out of Mississippi, Reese measured in at 6027, 214 pounds with 31 3/4-inch arms. He did not do a full workout at his Pro Day due to a hamstring injury at the time, but ran a 7.38 in the three-cone drill and put up 18 reps on the bench press.
According to Pro Football Focus snap data, Reese played 73 snaps at inside linebacker last season and 81 in 2023. He was also used on five special teams units in each season with 348 total special teams snaps in his career. He had decent production on special teams with six tackles in 2024 and five in 2023. He had two penalties against him on special teams last season.
The Steelers have hosted a number of linebackers for workouts recently but haven’t signed any yet. They seem to be fully healthy at the position with Patrick Queen, Payton Wilson, Cole Holcomb, Malik Harrison, Mark Robinson and Carson Bruener forming one of the deepest rooms on the roster, but they could just be doing their due diligence on a position where they’ve seen injury issues in the past.
The 90-man roster will be cut to 53 in just 11 days from now. But perhaps they are trying out all these linebackers for potential practice squad spots to call up for special teams in a pinch.
Tryout players circle back and get signed to the practice squad or futures contracts after the season all the time, so it’s worth stashing Reese in the back of your head. Especially with the experience he already has as a young player.
