Hours earlier than the NFL’s roster cutdown deadline, Steelers basic supervisor Omar Khan was in a position to swing a commerce that ought to assist remedy his group’s depth points behind outdoors linebacker T.J. Watt and Alex Highsmith. Pittsburgh has traded a 2023 sixth-round decide to Denver in change for linebacker Malik Reed and a seventh-round decide, according to Mike Klis of 9News.
Reed, 26, had been with the Broncos since going undrafted in 2019. He recorded two sacks as a rookie earlier than tallying a career-high eight sacks in the course of the 2020 season. Reed posted 5 sacks and a career-high two pressured fumbles in 14 video games final season. In three seasons with the Broncos, the 6-foot-5, 235-pound Reed racked up 15 sacks, 123 tackles (15 for loss), three pressured fumbles and two fumble recoveries.
Reed performed collegiately at Nevada, the place he tallied 22 sacks, 11 pressured fumbles and 38.5 tackles for loss. He was named as a first-team All-Mountain Valley performer as a senior whereas sharing the Golden Helmet Award, given yearly to this system’s most beneficial participant.
How did each groups fare on this commerce? This is how the Broncos and and Steelers graded out.
Steelers: A+
Pittsburgh sorely wanted depth behind starters Watt and Highsmith. As a substitute of repeating final 12 months’s playbook by signing a veteran, the Steelers as a substitute acquired a younger participant with appreciable upside. It is secure to say that Reed will contribute greater than Melvin Ingram, who was traded at midseason after failing to report a sack throughout his temporary keep in Pittsburgh whereas enjoying behind Watt and Highsmith.
Broncos: B-
Reed’s departure from Denver could open up a beginning position for rookie Nik Bonitto, who had been behind each Reed and Bradley Chubb on the depth chart. A second-round decide in April’s draft, Bonitto recorded 16 sacks and 26.5 tackles for loss throughout his remaining two seasons at Oklahoma.
Broncos GM George Paton deserves credit score for getting one thing again for a participant they weren’t planning to incorporate on their preliminary 53-man roster. That being mentioned, it is stunning that the Broncos could not get extra in return for Reed, a productive participant with 34 profession begins underneath his belt. Denver additionally misplaced key depth at a place that’s important to the success of a protection.
