Steelers add Miami (Fla.) pass rusher Quincy Roche in 6th round

Growing up near Baltimore, Quincy Roche was well aware of the Pittsburgh Steelers from their fierce AFC North rivalry with the Ravens.

Now that he’s the Steelers’ newest outside linebacker, Roche is more than ready to change allegiances. He’s just hoping the rest of his family complies, too.

“I’m in a house full of Ravens fans, but I told everyone today that I don’t even want to see the color purple,” Roche said after the Steelers used their sixth-round choice on the edge rusher from Miami (Fla.).

Continuing a run on defensive players on the third day of the NFL Draft, the Steelers selected Roche after picking Texas A&M linebacker Buddy Johnson in the fourth round and Wisconsin defensive end Isaiahh Loudermilk in the fifth.

Roche is a 6-foot-3, 245-pound redshirt senior who spent his first three seasons at Temple and accumulated 30 1/2 career sacks between the two schools. Roche played defensive end with his hand in the dirt. With the Steelers, he will be an outside linebacker in their 3-4 defense.

“I feel I’ve displayed the ability to be able to play in space on film,” he said. “I was asked to do a lot over my time at Temple and Miami. Of course, I have some improvement and work to do. I’m 100% confident in my ability to play linebacker.”

Roche started 10 games for Miami in 2020 and tied for eighth among FBS schools with 14 1/2 tackles for loss. He also had 4 1/2 sacks among his 45 tackles. As a sophomore, Roche had six sacks while starting five of 13 games. He also had seven sacks in his redshirt freshman season.

At Temple, Roche was named American Athletic Conference Defensive Player of the Year in 2019 when he had an FBS-high 13 sacks and tied for 10th with 19 tackles for loss.

In free agency, the Steelers not only lost pass rusher Bud Dupree but reserve Ola Adeniyi — both going to the Tennessee Titans.

Those departures greatly thinned the ranks at outside linebacker.

The Steelers sought depth behind starters T.J. Watt and Alex Highsmith, the 2020 third-round pick who is replacing Dupree on the right side. The only other outside linebackers on the roster were Cassius Marsh, who joined the Steelers in December, and offseason undrafted free agent addition Jamir Jones.

“I think we’ll be OK at that position,” defensive coordinator Keith Butler said. “A lot of stuff can happen, and we’ll wait to see before we get to training camp and how we develop in those situations.”