Steelers 2-a-days: 10-year veteran Maurkice Pouncey, late rookie add Damian Prince
Editor’s note: From now until the first practice of training camp at Saint Vincent, the Trib will be running through the Pittsburgh Steelers’ 90-man roster, assessing each player’s outlook for the 2019 season. The breakdown will go through the roster in mostly alphabetical order, (at least) two per day, between June 14 and July 26.
C MAURKICE POUNCEY
Experience: 10th season
Contract status: $7.951 million cap hit in 2019, signed through 2021
2019 outlook: The Steelers made a preemptive strike to avoid some contract drama this summer when they locked up Pouncey in March for two additional years. The deal included a $9 million signing bonus and added $22 million in salary over 2020-21. That $11 average annual value would make Pouncey the highest-paid center in the league. That’s certainly deserving to a player the Sporting News earlier this week said had a 90% chance at the Hall of Fame. It seemed the only thing that limited Pouncey earlier in his career was injury. That hasn’t been the case over the past three seasons, during which he has not missed a game because of injury. One of the Steelers’ outspoken leaders, Pouncey is entering his 10th NFL season and is cementing a legacy for a franchise that already has a pair of Hall of Fame centers in recent decades.
#Steelers Maurkice Pouncey and David DeCastro had their Hall of Fame resumes further buttressed https://t.co/aImOgZjXxr
— Tribune-ReviewSports (@TribSports) December 23, 2018
OL DAMIAN PRINCE
Experience: Rookie
Contract status: $495,000 cap hit in 2019, under contractual control for four accrued seasons
2019 outlook: Prince was a 3½-year starter for Maryland at right tackle after he was one of the most highly regarded tackles in the country in the recruiting realm. But he went undrafted and wasn’t signed as an undrafted free agent; he made the Steelers as a tryout at rookie camp. A teammate and longtime friend of Steelers seventh-round pick Derwin Gray, Prince said he got all his reps at tackle during the summer’s organized team activities and minicamp. (Gray, who played left tackle at Maryland, repped at guard.) Prince has enough pedigree in his background he could push for a practice-squad spot, but he will have to beat some more established players.
No. 26 Overall (No. 3 OT) Damian Prince commits to the University of Maryland. #SigningDay pic.twitter.com/kSGQOwRSCa
— College GameDay (@CollegeGameDay) February 5, 2014
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Chris Adamski is a TribLive reporter who has covered primarily the Pittsburgh Steelers since 2014 following two seasons on the Penn State football beat. A Western Pennsylvania native, he joined the Trib in 2012 after spending a decade covering Pittsburgh sports for other outlets. He can be reached at cadamski@triblive.com.
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