ANOTHER SIGNING: Steelers Sign ILB Ja’Whaun Bentley In NFL Free Agency | PIT’s Next Elandon Roberts?

ANOTHER SIGNING: Steelers Sign ILB Ja’Whaun Bentley In NFL Free Agency | PIT’s Next Elandon Roberts?

Welcome in to Steelers Talk. I’m your host, Jax Sperry. It appears we have our Thumper Steelers Nation. The Steelers are signing linebacker Jawan Bentley, longtime veteran, to the roster today. Um, and I’m really excited about this move, guys. Um, I think that this is a muchneeded move based on what we’ve seen from the linebacker play, especially in run defense over the first two weeks from the Pittsburgh Steelers. And uh once they can get Bentley ramped up, I have a feeling that he’s going to be a big part of this Steelers defense this year and they get a player of this caliber. Um you know, at this point, you know, after week two, uh I think that this is going to be a big- time signing for the Pittsburgh Steelers. Make sure you guys click that subscribe button because every time the con artist strikes, every time that he makes a big move this season, uh we’re going to get you guys a video. Whether I’m here at home, whether I’m in the studio like we did for the Isaiah Hodgeges news earlier today, um whether I’m on vacation, whatever the case may be, if breaking news happens for the Pittsburgh Steelers, I’m going to get you guys a video for free on this channel. So, join the over four or 94,000 subscribers that have already clicked that subscribe button and join the Steelers Talk family today. All right, so now let’s get into the news here. All right, Joawan Bentley, longtime veteran in the National Football League, formerly uh with the New England Patriots. Last year, he tore his pectoral muscle in week two of the 2024 season, was out for the rest of the year, did not play the rest of the way. Um, and then the team with the new regime coming in with Mike Vrabel decided to let him go um during the off season. So, he is somebody that is a little bit older, but he is somebody with a ton of experience and even going into last year, like he was still considered one of like the best thumping linebackers in the National Football League just last year um going into the year. So, as long as that pectoral muscle is healthy, and I’m guessing the Steelers brought him in for a visit today to see um how that uh pec was and to do the physical and do all those things. Um and apparently it checked out. So, I’m really excited to see what he’s going to be able to bring to the table because I think, you know, we have seen through the first two weeks here, guys, that the Steelers have really been missing a Landon Roberts’s presence and role inside this Steelers defense. Landon, you know, wasn’t a good uh pass defender, but man, he was an absolute meace against the run. Uh he’s super savvy, super instinctual, super aggressive. Uh but aggressive in a smart way, not aggressive in a dumb way where he’s abandoning run fits and allowing big-time runs. Um and you know, Orlando, another thing about him was that he was big. He was 250 plus pounds. Um and he could absolutely move people backwards in the run game as an inside linebacker. So that early down role um was really important for the Pittsburgh Steelers. And you know, especially when you got a guy like Keano Benson playing in the middle that’s not the most impactful as a, you know, nose tackle, you know, holding the line of scrimmage, that type of thing, you need kind of a big time thumping linebacker in there to kind of counteract that if you’re going to really um uh, you know, commit to putting Keano Benton out there as a three down player. And the Steelers didn’t have that through the first two weeks. You know, you have Patrick Queen out there who’s an under who’s an undersized linebacker. And then you have Payton Wilson who did put on some poundage this off season, but he’s also kind of under uh he’s he’s definitely not at the strength level or at the size level that he needs to be either in terms of functional strength. And then, you know, we saw on film that Patrick Queen and Peyton Wilson were out of position multiple times in week one. Uh and then in week two, Patrick Queen figured it out and he actually had some really nice plays on week two against Seattle. But then Pton Wilson was continuing to struggle, taking bad pursuit angles, all those different things. And, you know, he was getting pushed backwards a lot. And it’s just not conducive for good run defense. And if you don’t have a good run defense, I think we’ve seen over these first two weeks, guys, you know, this pass rush isn’t going to be able to be as effective as you want it to be because the def because the opposing team can just run it right down your throat. Get explosive run after explosive run. I think the Steelers defense leads the league in uh explosive runs allowed through the first two weeks. So, something had to change. And uh I think that out of the options out there, Jawan Bentley is definitely the best option that’s still out there. I actually couldn’t believe he was still out there and available. Uh when Aaron Wilson, I believe it was, had the report today that he was visiting the Steelers. And once that name popped up, I’m like, “Oh man, we got to sign this guy if he’s healthy.” Because man, he is 250 lbs just like Landon is. Super smart, super savvy like Landon was. And sure, you know, in hindsight, uh, should the Steelers have just resigned Roberts, especially at the low, low cost that the Raiders signed him for this off seasonason? Yes, 100%. They should have brought back a Landon Roberts. And, you know, they brought in Malik Harrison and, you know, they were kind of hoping that Peyton Wilson was going to be able to be a three down player and they were hoping that Patrick Queen was going to be able to do that as well. Um, but obviously that plan is just not going according to plan right now and it’s pretty obvious after two weeks that that plan is not going to work long term for this defense. So, um, I’ve suggested on Steelers Twitter that they should start playing Cole Hulkcom on early downs and then playing Payton Wilson in a kind of passing down third down type of role like he did last year when Landon was here. And honestly, that was the perfect setup, right? Because you got Patrick Queen who’s the guy that’s making the money at the position. He’s your every down player. um the the quote unquote quarterback of the defense as Mike Tomlin likes to put it. Then Alandon was out there to thump on early downs and get them in the third down and in passing situations and then they would take him off, bring on Pton Wilson, who’s actually a pretty good cover player. Um and he did some really good things in his rookie season. So, um I I like the idea of going back to that with Wilson just not looking comfortable out there, not taking good pursuit angles, not being a good run defender to start this season. uh a change needed to be made and you needed to kind of go back to the old plan and bring in a thumper here. Um and thank God Jawan Bentley was still available. So, is it possible that he’s old and he’s washed and you know he’s just not he’s not going to be able to stay healthy and all these different things? Yeah, that’s a possibility. But it’s nice to have a guy like Cole Hulkcom in there where even though you know he’s he’s also getting older and he’s he’s coming off a really terrible knee injury we all know that we all know about. Um, it’s nice to have some nice depth in this inside linebacker room because you’re still going to get Malik Harrison back too. He’s an awesome specialteamer and as a fifth linebacker that is about as good as you can possibly get um in in terms of a fifth linebacker. So, I’m actually kind of really liking this linebacker room for the Pittsburgh Steelers as it stands here today. Um, you know, I think that the way that it’s going to break down once Bentley gets kind of ramped up is it’s going to be a very similar rotation as it was last year. Patrick Queen is in that every down role. Bentley will be in that thumping uh you know hammer type of role on early downs. And then when you’re in a position where you feel like the the opposing offense is going to go out and throw the football, you put Peyton Wilson out there. Whether that’s second and long, whether that’s third and medium, third and long situations. Um and I think that that’s a good distribution of work for this group. Not only uh does that fit the talents of this room better than what their current situation was, but it also keeps guys fresher as the season goes on. Also, it makes this uh team more injury proof. You know, if there’s an injury somewhere, you know, there’s multiple guys that can fill different spots. And this is where having a guy like Cole Hulcom um is super valuable for this defense because Cole is pretty decent against the run and pretty decent against the pass. He’s not really great in one particular area. Uh, so if Peyton Wilson goes down with an injury or Patrick Queen goes down with an injury, right, you can you can interject Cole Hulkcom into really whatever role you want um, and he’s going to do a good enough job to get the job done uh, in that in that scenario. So, that’s really nice to have. And then having a guy like Malik Harrison as well as a special teamr and as another depth piece at linebacker, you know, whenever he gets back healthy is going to be a good thing for this defense. So, really, really like this signing, guys. uh you know adding a thumper like this 250 plus pounder um that’s uh maybe not the best in pass defense. He’s kind of similar to a Landon in that regard. I actually do think he’s better in pass defense than a Landon was. Um I don’t think he’s quite the thumper and quite the run defender uh Roberts was. Uh but you know maybe a little bit more of a balanced product there which should be good for when teams want to do play action and do the things uh you know the passing stuff on first down against the Steelers. So, um, I really do like this signing, guys. In terms of a week three signing, I don’t know if there’s going to be a more impactful signing this week across the National Football League. And then that’s not even taking into account here the other signings that the Steelers have made over the last two weeks. Of course, they bring in Jabril Peppers, Bentley’s former teammate there with the New England Patriots. And Peppers is expected to be ramped up this week. and he’s probably going to be playing quite a bit, not only potentially as a special teams player, as a kick returner, but also as a a strong safety, uh, of course with Deshawn Elliot still out. So, Pepper seems like he’s picked up the defense quite well, and it seems like he’s going to get some run here in week three, and, you know, he’s going to be a great defensive chess piece to use. He’s also a really good run defender, great tackler, so he’ll help out in that regard as well. Um, so, so to get these two former Patriots, you know, that have been really good defenders in this league for a long time, experienced veterans, um, you know, you’re not going to have to worry about them too much in terms of knowing what to do out there. Um, I just really like these two defensive signings. And then we covered it earlier on the show today, Isaiah Hajins, um, you know, and I’ I’ve been seeing a lot of sarcastic remarks, oh, another wide receiver, four, you know, just, you know, why can’t we get a number two receiver? Blah blah blah blah blah. Hodgeges for what he is is a good signing guys. All right. And you know at this point in the process you’re not going to find a number two receiver in free agency. You’re just not. Um so to get a guy like Hajins who has some really good experience and honestly brings a skill set that you know is lacking in this receiver room. This receiver room has like only deep threats and mostly smaller receivers outside of DK Metaf um who’s you know who’s who’s more of a limited route tree type of guy. true vertical threat, true yak threat, um when you get the ball in his hands in space. And then you got Scoranic who’s more of a blocking specialist, not much of a route runner, not much of a of a hands threat, not much of a route, not much of a speed threat either. You get a guy in Isaiah Hajins who actually is a threat with his route running to the short and intermediate levels of the field. That is something that this team has really needed. He’s somebody that brings good size and run blocking to the table. So if the Steelers want to go condensed, they want to put out two receivers out there that can run block. Hodgeges can absolutely do that. He can play in the slot. He can play outside. He’s got really reliable hands. Um he’s for me, he’s a light version of Adam Thelen is a good way to think of him. You know, he’s not fast. He’s not a vertical threat or anything like that. But the Steelers have plenty of those, right? What they needed was somebody that with reliable hands, somebody that could throw up a ball down the sideline too or, you know, on a corner route or on an out route and make a tough catch over the middle as well. Like he’s got a very extensive route tree in the short and intermediate game and he’s a run blocker, too. So, you know, if DK Met goes down with an injury, you don’t have to put Ben Scoranic out there at X receiver. Like, Hajins is certainly someone that can play X. Um, and he’s certainly someone that can you can put in the slot in certain situations and you can use as a true rotational situational piece. And at this point in the offseason, guys, where there’s no like legit number two receivers left available in free agency and no one’s trading anybody at this point, you know, adding a guy like Hajins is, I think, a pretty decent signing for this football team. And for the vet minimum, like there’s really no reason not to take a shot on somebody they think can be a good fit inside this inside this offense. So obviously this team is still relying on Calvin Austin the third to step up and be this team’s true number two receiver. He looked like that week one. He did not look that like that in week two. Um hopefully he can find a little bit more consistency as the season goes on. I will say there was some good moments on film from from Calvin getting open and all those sorts of things. It just didn’t go his way. And then of course he had the weird kind of tip up interception as well. So hopefully Calvin continues to kind of show Steelers fans in this in Aaron Rogers and this entire Steelers team that he can be this team’s number two receiver because I do think he has the ability to do it. Uh but Hajins brings a bit more size which is something that I think this team needed in terms of their rotational and backup type of players. Uh you get that now with Hajins. You get somebody with really good hands, someone that can be a red zone threat as well. Um, you know, I think it’s a pretty decent depth signing. And, you know, if you if you if you can’t appreciate a good depth signing, I don’t know uh what to say, man. But I think that the Steelers have made some pretty darn good moves here acquiring some veterans I think can help them win football games. Are any of these guys going to be like the best player on your team or on your unit? No, probably not. But like are these guys capable of playing, you know, crucial roles within their uh little niches there and, you know, helping this team win football games and help this team be a more complete football team? 100%. So, uh, I think that Omar Khan and Mike Tomlin have been doing a pretty decent job here over the last two weeks finding players that can help them win ball games. We’ll see if Bentley can be ramped up in time to play on Sunday versus the Patriots. I’m sure he wants to play against his former team that let him go. Uh it’d be pretty cool to see Bentley and Peppers get their revenge against their former team uh in this football game, but you know, Peppers didn’t have much of a role last week. Uh pretty much no role in fact. Um and you know, Bentley’s going to be here. He’s going to just have a couple days of practice. So honestly, I would kind of expect to see Cole Hulcom in that kind of early down linebacker role early. uh because it certainly seems like the Steelers are realizing that Pton Wilson out there on early downs and in runheavy situations is a no-go uh moving forward. So, I would expect a higher workload for Cole Hulkcom on Sunday. Um honestly, I wouldn’t be shocked if we just don’t see Bentley at all this week and then they ramp him up for the for the Dublin game. But I will I do expect to see Peppers. I do expect him to play probably more than Chuck Clark does. I thought Chuck did an okay job last week, but certainly not dynamic by any stretch of the imagination. Uh Peppers can help them out in run defense as well. So, um looking forward to this week’s game, guys. Looking forward to seeing what these guys can do uh in a Steelers uniform this year. And that’s going to be uh it for our second breaking news video of the day right here on Steelers Talk. Make sure you guys click that subscribe button. Also, check out our previous two videos. Uh we put out our week three preview, Steelers versus uh Patriots, uh this morning and then we put out an Isaiah Hajins reaction video earlier today as well. So if you want to check out those two videos, I greatly appreciate it. I’ll see you guys tomorrow. Until then, guys, here we go.

PITTSBURGH STEELERS NEWS ALERT: The Steelers are signing veteran inside linebacker Ja’Whaun Bentley in NFL Free Agency as a response to their poor effort in run defense at the inside linebacker position to start the 2025 NFL season. On today’s breaking news edition of Steelers Talk, host Jack Sperry discusses what this acquisition means for the Steelers defense moving forward, what Bentley brings to the Steelers defense, and whether or not he will play vs. the New England Patriots this Sunday as the Steelers look to get back into the win column this weekend.

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