The Pittsburgh Steelers hosted free agent DB and special teams ace George Odum for a visit on Tuesday, according to the NFL’s transaction sheet. This comes just days after losing special teams captain Miles Killebrew to a significant knee injury.
Odum has been around in the NFL since 2018, when he initially signed with the Indianapolis Colts as an undrafted free agent out of Central Arkansas. He remained with them through 2022 before signing multiple contracts with the San Francisco 49ers from 2022 to 2025, when he was ultimately released in July.
While Odum has only played 1,195 defensive snaps in his seven years in the NFL, his value comes on special teams. He earned a first-team All-Pro selection in 2020 and a second-team selection in 2022. He’s played 2,056 total special teams snaps throughout his career as a core player on multiple units.
PFF has credited Odum with 73 total special teams tackles as one of the highest graded players from 2020 to 2022.
He has experience with all special teams units. Most importantly, he has served as a personal protector on the punt coverage unit. That is the role Killebrew has held down for years, so he might be a natural player to slot in there. He also has experience as a gunner.
On defense, most of his career snaps have come either in the slot or at free safety. He most likely wouldn’t see the field much on defense in Pittsburgh, but it wouldn’t hurt to have another experienced player in the mix. At almost 32 years old, Odum hasn’t played his best football since 2022, but he can definitely help fill the void left by Killebrew on multiple ST units.
Pittsburgh has yet to place Killebrew on IR, but that could happen at any time now. Odum now seems like the most logical option to replace him in the corresponding roster move.
