Tyler Matakevich Excited to Be Back with Steelers, Playing for Mike Tomlin: ‘There Was No Hesitation’

UNITY TWP., Pa. — Tyler Matakevich has only played for two teams in his eight-year NFL career, so when he was a free agent long into the summer this year after not being retained by the Buffalo Bills, it was starting to look like he might need to add a third helmet to his mantle, to go alone with the Bills and Pittsburgh Steelers.

Then Omar Khan called just a few weeks before training camp. Matakevich jumped at the opportunity to re-join the Steelers, who had drafted him in 2016 and where he spent the first four years of his NFL career.

“Oh my gosh, I’m so excited,” Matakevich said. “Obviously, this is where I got drafted back in 2016. So just having the opportunity to come back and play for Coach Tomlin, it’s a dream come true. … There was no hesitation. Just having the opportunity to play with Mike Tomlin and Danny Smith, all these great coaches, there’s nowhere else I would rather be. Honestly, it was such an easy decision for me to come back up here as soon as Omar called.”

It’s probably surprising that Matakevich was still available, with the new NFL kickoff rules making experienced special teams aces quite valuable. “Dirty Red,” as he was known in his stint in Pittsburgh, was a special teams captain for the last three seasons with the Buffalo Bills.

Buffalo Bills linebacker Tyler Matakevich after a game against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sept. 12, 2021. — Ed Thompson / Steelers Now

“I know proven capable teamers are significant when you are faced with the unknown in the kickoff,” Tomlin said. “Tyler is a known commodity in that space, one we’re familiar with, one that everybody in the National Football League is familiar with. Just prudent business facing what we’re facing in terms of unknown, the impact of that play on our game.”

Adding Matakevich to an inside linebackers room that already contains Patrick Queen, Elandon Roberts, Cole Holcomb, Mark Robinson and third-round pick Payton Wilson might seem like overkill, but Tomlin acknowledged that the new kickoff rules may change positional priorities among special teams.

“You don’t have to run down the field 60 yards anymore,” Matakevich said. 

That means that instead of extra defensive backs and wide receivers covering kickoffs, there could be space for more linebackers. The Steelers have admitted that they don’t really know how the new kickoff rules are going to shake off, and are waiting until the second week, when they’ll be able to wear pads and have NFL officials in during practice, to try it out.

“I think anybody who has said they have a handle on it is probably lying, or naive,” Tomlin said. “There’s no video, all we have is words on the page. I think that’s the component of it that makes it exciting, there’s going to be some anxiety among my peers, regarding these concepts until we get some video on it. I imagine there’s a lot of guys in my position that are going to be watching the Hall of Fame game, see what some of it looks like. I’ll be looking at the EA Sports game when it comes out to see what it looks like. It’s just uncharted territory, and so you pay respect to the unknown with preparedness and anxiety at times.”

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Which is why Khan picked up that phone in July to bring Matakevich back to Pittsburgh. It’s also why, for the first time in years, the Steelers are holding a joint practice during training camp this year. It happens that it will be against the Buffalo Bills.

“I’m excited,” Matakevich said. “I think that’s a great opportunity. It’s always nice being in training camp working, but you start to get sick and tired of hitting the same person every day, so when you have a joint practice, it’s nice to hit somebody else for a little bit.”