On Steelers practice squad last year, OLB Delontae Scott angling to make 2022 active roster

There were seven snaps on defense, two times he was on the field for special teams. No personal statistics were logged, and his team lost the game.

But it was a night Delontae Scott will never forget. In fact, he recalls it in great detail.

“I remember every snap!” Scott practically squealed Tuesday while recollecting his NFL regular-season debut from last autumn. “It was a blessing.”

Scott appeared in the Pittsburgh Steelers’ 41-37 loss at the Los Angeles Chargers on the Sunday evening four days prior to Thanksgiving last year. It stands as his only official pro action in the two seasons since he entered the NFL as an undrafted free agent. But Scott is having a good enough training camp at Saint Vincent that he could make the Steelers’ 53-man roster at what is a relatively thin position for them: outside linebacker.

“As long as I come in and keep working and keep trying to work on stacking good days, we’ve got a great group of guys competing and I do feel like I do have a chance,” Scott said after Tuesday’s practice at Chuck Noll Field. “But it depends on how everything works out in the end.”

#Steelers 2-a-days: OLB Delontae Scott a sleeper to make team, Trent Scott a depth piece for OL https://t.co/r0qhsUtLAy

— Tribune-ReviewSports (@TribSports) July 14, 2022

The 6-foot-5, 246-pound Scott was all-conference as a senior at SMU when he had 10 sacks. He spent all of 2020 on the Green Bay Packers’ practice squad after signing there as an undrafted free agent. Waived at the end of last year’s Packers camp, Scott joined the Steelers’ practice squad Sept. 7.

He stayed there all year except for a Nov. 20 promotion to the active roster for the Chargers game while the Steelers were dealing with a spate of injuries/illnesses. The Steelers reverted him back to the practice squad the rest of the season and re-signed him to a reserve/futures deal soon after the season ended.

For now, he’s one of seven outside linebackers on the camp roster who are fighting for probably four spots on the 53-man list. T.J. Watt and Alex Highsmith will start, and veteran Genard Avery is a lock as a backup. The two undrafted rookie free agents (Tyree Johnson and T.D. Moultry) are already gone, leaving returnee Derrek Tuszka, Tuzar Skipper and Scott.

Scott at times has flashed during camp, and at one point Tuesday coach Mike Tomlin was heard complimenting him.

“We are all out here competing. It’s a high level, and Coach always loves competition,” Scott said. “I just keep doing what I can to my abilities and show what I can do on the field, and if Coach T is peeping in I appreciate it. It’s still a work day, every day.”

Scott smirked when asked about his coverage skills, saying he is buying in and he took some pass coverage reps when he was in college. The Steelers are uncommon in that they at times require their edge defenders to cover running backs or tight ends. Scott also said he is eager to play special teams, which is a job requirement for a backup defender.

If he shows enough, he’ll add to those nine snaps he played last year at SoFi Stadium.

“I always believe in myself,” Scott said, “and will continue to work and trust the process and never get down on myself. I’ll just keep working.”

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