Steelers Release Longtime Defensive Tackle
The Pittsburgh Steelers signed wide receiver Tarik Black, the team announced on Wednesday. In a corresponding move, defensive lineman Jonathan Marshall was released.
The Steelers signed Marshall from the New York Jets practice squad on Dec. 14, 2022, after injuries decimated the Steelers’ defensive line.
The Steelers listed Marshall as inactive for his first week on the team. He did not log any snaps for the rest of the season. Marshall spent the entire 2023 season on the Steelers practice squad and was not elevated once during the season.
In his career, Marshall has played in four games and recorded two combined tackles and one quarterback pressure.
With the emergence of Keeanu Benton and the re-signing of Montravius Adams, it looks like the Steelers will roll with the same two nose tackles in 2024. The Steelers needed to create room on the roster for a wide receiver, and Marshall ended up getting the short end of the stick.
Marshall is a true nose tackle that has the explosiveness and strength to be an effective run-stopper but has yet to bring it all together.
Even while in college at the University of Arkansas, Marshall would flash elite upside at times but struggle at other times. Coming out of college, Marshall’s 36 reps on the bench were considered elite and he tested above average in regard to his speed tests. His Relative Athletic Score was a 9.99 out of 10.
He spent most of his time playing in a true zero-technique and was used sparingly as a 4i in his time as a Razorback. In his 76 defensive snaps on the Jets in 2021, Marshall lined up out of position for a nose tackle as he played 64 of those snaps lined up over the B-gap.
The thing that kept Marshall in Pittsburgh after his initial signing was that he was solid depth, of course, but he also picked up on the defensive playbook quickly due to it’s similarities with the Jets defense at the time.
“To be honest, they’re all kind of similar,” Marshall said after joining the team in 2022. “It was all about the get off with the Jets and attack there. But here it’s the same thing. It’s taking the man instead of the area.”
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