Exit Meeting: CB Donte Kent
Experience: 1 Year
There’s not much to say about Donte Kent, a rookie draft pick who spent the year on the Reserve/Injured List. A seventh-round pick, he showed some positive signs in the offseason, but had no opportunity to advance. Already, he would have had a hard time making the 53-man roster, but he certainly had a chance.
Early in training camp, Donte Kent intercepted a pass that earned him some attention. A short time later, he suffered a foot injury. Though that injury wasn’t season-ending, he was in a walking boot for several days. He shed it by the end of the first week of August, though. Even though he seemed to be working his way back by the end of training camp, the Steelers still placed him on IR.
One might argue that they were “stashing” him, which technically violates the rules. We don’t know the degree to which Donte Kent might have really been injured, in actuality. Changes to IR in recent years, however, do make short-term injuries far easier to justify.
In-season, as injuries arose, the Steelers even opened Kent’s practice window. Only after doing so for Cory Trice Jr., who reinjured himself once he returned. Incredibly, Kent also injured himself once he returned to practice. We only found out more recently that he actually tore his ACL.
A seventh-round pick who didn’t even make it into a preseason game and is coming off an in-season ACL injury, Donte Kent will have a tough time in 2026 making the Steelers’ roster. Pittsburgh has already been busy adding to the secondary in free agency and could draft more. They have already signed Jamel Dean, Jaquan Brisker, and Darnell Savage.
At cornerback, the Steelers currently have Joey Porter Jr., Dean, Asante Samuel Jr., Jalen Ramsey, and Brandin Echols, at least. They also have Trice returning from his own injury. D’Shawn Jamison would also be a part of that discussion, as will potentially a draft pick. But Donte Kent, if he is healthy, should have a chance this summer, too.
The Pittsburgh Steelers find themselves licking their wounds after yet another early playoff exit. This is a repeated pattern for the organization, but with major change coming. As the Steelers conduct their own exit meetings, we will go down the roster conducting our own. Who should stay, and who should go, and how? Who should expect a bigger role next season, and who might deserve a new contract? The resignation of Mike Tomlin makes those questions much more difficult to answer, but much more important. We’ll explore those questions and more in these articles, part of an annual series.