Getty Head coach Mike Tomlin and the Pittsburgh Steelers are reportedly signing Pittsburgh native and linebacker Nick Kwiatkoski.
It’s getting late in the offseason, but the Pittsburgh Steelers continue to reconstruct their inside linebacker room. This time, they’re doing it with a Pittsburgh native.
93.7 The Fan’s Colin Dunlap reported on June 19 that the Steelers plan to sign linebacker Nick Kwiatkoski. The team invited him for a workout during minicamp with fellow linebacker Jermaine Carter, but the Steelers had yet to sign either before June 19.
A roster spot came open for Pittsburgh, though, when the team released safety Scott Nelson on June 16.
Kwiatkoski played college football at West Virginia, which is a little more than an hour from Pittsburgh. He also played high school football about 10 miles south of downtown Pittsburgh in Bethel Park.
Steelers Sign Linebacker Nick Kwiatkoski
Sports Illustrated’s Noah Strackbein projected the Steelers to replace Nelson with either Kwiatkoski or Carter at inside linebacker. He just wasn’t 100% sure with which linebacker.
“Competition is always a good thing, and the Steelers may want some competition in their inside linebacker room,” wrote Strackbein.
The Steelers added that competition with Kwiatkoski.
The 30-year-old began his career as a fourth-round selection of the Chicago Bears in the 2016 NFL draft. Despite being a Day 3 choice, he started seven games as a rookie, posting 44 combined tackles, including 3 for loss, 1 quarterback hit and 1 sack. He also had 2 pass defenders forced fumble as a rookie.
Kwiatkoski started 22 games for the Bears over four seasons. He signed a three-year contract to join the Las Vegas Raiders in 2020.
He started a career-high 12 games during his first season for the Raiders. Kwiatkoski recorded 81 combined tackles, including 3 tackles for loss, 2 quarterback hits, 4 pass defenses, 1 interception and 1 sack in 2020.
But he hasn’t started since then. Kwiatkoski played eight games for the Raiders in 2021 before ending the season on injured reserve. Las Vegas then released him last March.
Kwiatkoski dressed for 12 games with the Atlanta Falcons in 2022 but didn’t play a defensive snap. He posted 7 combined tackles on 228 special teams snaps.
Steelers Transformation at Inside Linebacker Continues
Adding Kwiatkoski gives the Steelers six inside linebackers on the 90-man roster heading into training camp. Of those six linebackers, five of them — Kwiatkoski, Cole Holcomb, Elandon Roberts, Tanner Muse, and Chapelle Russell — are new to Pittsburgh.
The other thing those five linebackers mostly have in common is experience. Kwiatkoski, Holcomb and Roberts have made a combined 158 starts in their careers. Muse and Russell have made one start and played in at least 25 games each.
The lone holdover for the Steelers at inside linebacker is Mark Robinson. The 2022 seventh-round draft pick started the final two games for Pittsburgh last season.
Mike Tomlin and the Steelers may still have high hopes for Robinson. The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s Gerry Dulac argued in a fan chat in February that the team’s plan was to have Robinson start in 2023.
That doesn’t appear to be the case anymore. In fact, Robinson may have to be impressive in training camp and the preseason just to earn a roster spot.
But with the arrival of Kwiatkoski, the Steelers transformation at inside linebacker appears complete. Pittsburgh should be more experienced and deeper in the middle of its defense than it was a year ago.
