When the Pittsburgh Steelers signed Montravius Adams off of the New Orleans practice squad in the middle of the 2021 season, it was just to feel a gapping hole left by injuries. Fast forward three seasons and Adams is onto his third contract with the team after signing a two-year extension this offseason.
“If I am being honest, there was some uncertainty at the end of the year,” Adams told reporters about the possibility of him returning. “I wanted to stay here. I would honestly like to finish it out here.”
While the Steelers managed to retain Adams despite the uncertainty, one was for certain, Adams’ days as the starting defensive tackle are likely gone for good. After last year’s rookie Keeanu Benton usurped the job from him, Adams played in more of a rotational role which is likely his role for the 2024 season. This is a role that Adams stated he is okay with playing in.
“Playing football, you have got to be willing to go along with the journey,” Adams said. “Sometimes you are going to be a starter and sometimes you are not. At the end of the day, as long as I am doing what I need to on the field so I can take care of my family back at home, no problem. As long as [Benton] is growing and getting better, no problem, and he is continuing to do that so no problem.”
Another role that Adams plans to excel in this season is the role of a mentor to not only Benton but anybody else that needs it.
“I think there is a lot I can do, not even talking about on the football field, just helping develop guys around me,” Adams said. “Me as a person, that is more of my character besides football. Just helping better people around me so I think that is a role that I want to take on this year.”
Besides helping guys develop on the field, another reason that Adams can be a mentor on this team is because of his age and experience he stated.
“It’s cool being in the middle,” Adams explained. “I feel myself as the divider. I can speak to Cam, I can speak to the young guys. When you get a little older it’s harder to reach a young guy so that I feel like that is another place that I help on the team defensively.”
With Adams smoothly transitioning into his new role on the defense, he is still just 28-years-old and can step in to start at a moments notice. While he will not be the starter, Adams is still scheduled to be on the field quite a bit in 2024 and when he is not, he will be on the sidelines giving pointers.
57 • Montravius Adams, Defensive Tackle, Auburn
6-foot-4, 304 pounds, 28 years old, 8th Season
Acquired: The Steelers signed Adams to their active roster off of the New Orleans Saints practice squad on Nov. 29, 2021. In the 2021 season, Adams played in five games for the Saints before being placed on the practice squad and eventually signing with the Steelers.
Last season: Last season, Adams’ role diminished slightly due to the emergence of Keeanu Benton. Adams still played in a career-high 416 defensive snaps in eight starts and 13 appearances. Adams finished the 2023 season with 24 total tackles and one forced fumble.
Career: The Green Bay Packers selected Montravius Adams with the 93rd overall pick in the third round of the 2017 NFL Draft. As a rookie, Adams. He suffered a foot injury in training camp that resulted in him missing the entire preseason. Adams made his NFL debut later that season but did not start any of his seven appearances.
In 2018, Adams appeared in all 16 games for the Packers and started his first game in Week 16 against the New York Jets. Adams played 213 defensive snaps and recorded 20 combined tackles, 1.5 sacks, and six quarterback pressures. Following the season, Pro Football Focus gave Adams the highest rating of his career with a 66.8 rating. His 1.5 sacks in 2018 are the only credited sacks of Adams’ NFL career so far.
In 2019, Adams played in 14 games and started two for the Packers. He finished the season with 11 combined tackles and one quarterback pressure on 187 defensive snaps. In his final season in Green Bay, Adams only appeared in eight games and tallied 11 total tackles and two quarterback pressures.
Following the 2020 season, Adams signed with the New England Patriots but was waived prior to the season. He then signed with the New Orleans Saints and appeared in five games, starting one in 2021 before the Steelers claimed him off of the Saints’ practice squad.
In his five games with the Steelers in 2021, Adams played well enough in his 171 defensive snaps to earn the second-highest PFF rating of his career (60.5). Prior to the 2022 season, the Steelers re-signed Adams to a two-year contract extension.
In 2022, Adams probably played the biggest role since he entered the league with the Steelers. He played in all 17 games and notched nine starts. He played his second most defensive snaps in a season with 281 and finished the season with 26 total tackles, four quarterback pressures, and one pass defended.
In total, Adams has appeared in 85 career games and has started 25 of them with 21 of those starts coming as a Steeler. He registered 109 total tackles, 1.5 sacks and two forced fumbles.
| Year | Team | GP | GS | Def. Snaps | Tackles | Sacks | Pressures | PFF Rating |
| 2017 | GB | 7 | 0 | 65 | 2 | 0.0 | 1 | 47.2 |
| 2018 | GB | 16 | 1 | 213 | 20 | 1.5 | 6 | 66.8 |
| 2019 | GB | 14 | 2 | 187 | 11 | 0.0 | 1 | 43.8 |
| 2020 | GB | 8 | 0 | 130 | 11 | 0.0 | 2 | 63.7 |
| 2021 | NO | 5 | 1 | 115 | 7 | 0.0 | 2 | – |
| 2021 | PIT | 5 | 4 | 171 | 8 | 0.0 | 7 | 60.5 |
| 2022 | PIT | 17 | 9 | 281 | 26 | 0.0 | 4 | 48.9 |
| 2023 | PIT | 13 | 8 | 416 | 24 | 0.0 | – | 58.3 |
College: Montravius Adams was a highly-rated prospect coming out of Dooly County and committed to play at Auburn University. He played immediately as a true freshman as he appeared in 13 games for the Tigers. He totaled 20 tackles, one sack, and 1.5 tackles for loss in 2013.
In 2014, Adams started 10 of his 13 appearances and made the most of his opportunities. He finished the year with 43 total tackles, three sacks, eight tackles for loss, and one interception. In the game where he hauled in his first collegiate interception, Adams also recovered a fumble which marked the first time an Auburn played did that since 2010.
Adams started at the nose tackle position for the second season in a row in 2015 as he played in all 13 games for the Tigers and posted 44 combined tackles, 2.5 sacks, three tackles for loss, and two forced fumbles.
As a senior, Adams played at an elite level and earned All-American second team, All-SEC first team, and was a Rotary Lombardi Award semifinalist. He finished the season with 44 combined tackles, 4.5 sacks, 8.5 sacks, one interception, and one forced fumble. Adams played in the Reese’s Senior Bowl following the season.
| Year | GP | Tackles | TFLs | Sacks | INTs | FFs |
| 2013 | 13 | 20 | 1.5 | 1.0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2014 | 13 | 43 | 8.0 | 3.0 | 1 | 0 |
| 2015 | 13 | 44 | 3.0 | 2.5 | 0 | 2 |
| 2016 | 13 | 44 | 8.5 | 4.5 | 1 | 1 |
Salary cap and future: Montravius Adams is entering the first year of his new two-year contract with the Steelers and will cost $2.125 million against the team’s 2024 cap space. Of his $2.125 million cap hit, he is owed $1.25 million in base salary and $875,000 in bonuses.
Adams is scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent following the 2025 season.
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