For years, Steelers fans would point out every time the Patriots under Bill Belichick signed one of their cuts before a game. This year, it’s Mike Tomlin signing former New England players just before the two teams square off. Although the intel they might be able to provide isn’t the primary reason for their employment, it also doesn’t hurt.
Yesterday, the Steelers signed former Patriots ILB Ja’Whaun Bentley to their practice squad. Given Patrick Queen’s rib injury, and Malik Harrison’s absence on special teams, there is even a non-zero chance that he actually dresses and plays as an elevation. And there are few players in the league right now who might now more about the Patriots than him.
A 2018 fifth-round pick, Ja’Whaun Bentley spent his entire career with the Patriots before his March release, signing with the Steelers’ practice squad yesterday. Over seven years, he made 68 starts across 83 games, logging 3,665 defensive and 357 special teams snaps. He only played 61 snaps last year, but he missed almost the entire season due to injury. He had been a regular starter since 2020, and had hardly played special teams since.
Bentley is a 6-2, 250-pound thumper, reminding somewhat of another former Patriots linebacker the Steelers recently employed, Elandon Roberts. For whatever reason, they opted to move on from Roberts this offseason, signing Malik Harrison instead.
Through the first two games, however, the Steelers’ inside linebackers are being overmatched, physically. Patrick Queen and Payton Wilson might be the most athletic duo in the league, but that doesn’t stop linemen from steamrolling you in the run game. When the Steelers had those issues in the past two years, they brought on one former Patriots linebacker in Roberts. Even though Bentley is currently on the practice squad, he could find his way on the field eventually.
Granted, the Patriots have a new head coach in Mike Vrabel, so the Steelers will only be able to learn so much from Bentley. They also have another former Patriots defender on the roster in Jabrill Peppers, whom they signed last week.
As noted, the Patriots released Bentley back in late March, so the Steelers won’t learn much from him about Mike Vrabel. But New England carried Jabrill Peppers right until the end, so that’s a different story. There is still some carryover from one head coach to another, though.
And the Steelers have other former Patriots, as well. They signed Daniel Ekuale this spring, who played for the Patriots from 2021-2024. They also have Jonnu Smith and Calvin Anderson, who had somewhat recent stints there.
On the other side of the ball, the Patriots also have two former Steelers, most notably Robert Spillane. He is a starter for them, but he hasn’t played for Pittsburgh in a couple years. More immediate is special teamer Mark Robinson, who spent his whole career with the Steelers until final cuts this year. Last year, they brought in Chukwuma Okorafor. Previously, they also brought in Sean Davis, Chidi Iwuoma, and a bunch of names you wouldn’t even remember because they never ends up playing for one or the other, mysteriously vanishing after the game.
