Steelers All 90: DT Demarcus Christmas
All 90 is a Pittsburgh Steelers Now series profiling each of the 90 members of the Steelers 2021 offseason roster.
93 • Demarcus Christmas, first-year defensive tackle
6-foot-3, 302 pounds
Acquired: Signed to the practice squad as a street free agent on Nov. 7, 2020. Christmas was re-signed to a reserve/future contract on Jan. 14, 2021.
Last season: Christmas spent training camp with the Seattle Seahawks, was released on Sept. 5, signed to the practice squad on Sept. 17 and released from the practice squad on Oct. 6. He spent the final eight weeks of the season on the Steelers’ practice squad and was not elevated for any games.
Career: The Seahawks drafted Christmas in the sixth round of the 2019 NFL Draft. He spent his entire rookie season on the physically unable to perform list with a back injury.
College: Appeared in 51 games at Florida State with 38 starts, recording 105 tackles, 10.5 tackles for loss, 3.5 sacks, 13 passes defended, two fumble recoveries, a forced fumble and a blocked kick.
Camp outlook: The Steelers don’t have a ton of nose tackle depth behind starter Tyson Alualu. Carlos Davis is the primary backup, while Isaiah Buggs and Chris Wormley can also fill the spot.
If they want a tackle on the practice squad, and all of the above make the 53-man roster, Christmas is as good of a bet as anyone, assuming he is able to successfully overcome whatever issue caused him to be absent from the team’s mandatory minicamp.
Future: Christmas will be an exclusive-rights free agent after the 2021 season.
The rest of the 90: