Tim Benz: Malik Reed's immediate promotion from 'welcomed addition' to 'scrutinized replacement' for T.J. Watt

If you are looking to blame someone for the pectoral muscle injury suffered by T.J. Watt, blame me. I jinxed it. I accidentally thought it into existence.

I saw former Steeler Tyrone Carter at practice last week. He came back for a visit before the club’s opener in Cincinnati.

Carter was a defensive back with the Steelers from 2004-09. He won two Super Bowl rings in Pittsburgh and turned in an applaudable 11-year NFL career.

A good guy, that Tyrone Carter. A gutsy safety that tried hard for the team. You could spot-start him. Play him off the bench. Put him on special teams. A friendly, willing and cooperative interview for those of us in the media.

I can’t remember anyone saying anything bad about Carter, except for “He’s no Troy Polamalu.” A mortal sin, indeed.

You heard that a lot in Pittsburgh in 2009. That’s when Carter had to start 12 games, mainly in place of the future Hall of Famer. It was a completely unfair and utterly unenviable task for the 33-year-old Carter to try to be that guy.

For many Steelers fans and the media, Carter became somewhat of a target for those who wanted to gripe about a defense that sank from first in the league in 2008 to 13th in 2009.

“Hey Ty, why aren’t you better at being Troy Polamalu?” folks like me would ask.

As if there was a logical answer.

But there was Carter smiling ear-to-ear at practice last week, shaking the hand of anyone who walked by. I happily did so and walked away thinking, “What a nice guy. Now, who is the poor son-of-a-gun on this year’s team who may have to do what Carter did, and potentially have to replace T.J. Watt for half a seas…”

Sorry. I didn’t even say it out loud. It was just a thought that popped into my head. My bad.

Enter Malik Reed. He’s the outside linebacker the Steelers acquired via trade shortly before the start of the regular season. Apparently, that’s when coach Mike Tomlin and general manager Omar Khan looked at each other and said, “Hey, um, what if Watt or Alex Highsmith get injured? Or, you know, get a speck of dirt in their eye and need to come out for a play. Do we have anyone capable of filling that role?”

I assume the answer was a resounding “no” because they traded a sixth-round draft pick to get Reed. And the franchise reacquired another outside linebacker, Jamir Jones, after the Jacksonville Jaguars waived him on Sept. 1. Both men dressed and played in Cincinnati during the 2022 season-opening win over the Bengals.

Reed is likely the guy who is going to be the main candidate to fill in for Watt for however long Watt is sidelined. He got 32 defensive snaps Sunday. Jones got 18.

Like Carter, while Reed was in Denver, he performed quite nicely as a backup to stars such as Von Miller and Bradley Chubb. The University of Nevada product totaled 15 sacks in 45 games as a Bronco. Similar to Carter, Reed comes off as likable, pleasant and accommodating of a person as you are going to find.

So … uh, oh.

Is Reed going to be one of these “try-guys” who is great in short bursts that we all root for to be just as good as the starter he’s replacing, until he gets over-exposed as a starter himself?

Tomlin doesn’t seem to think so.

“Malik is a 700-plus snap defender the last two years,” Tomlin said. “His resume speaks for itself. That’s why we went out and acquired him. He’s a very, very credible NFL player, and we expect him to play varsity ball for us.”

More from Tim Benz:

• Tim Benz: Amid confusing reports on T.J. Watt injury, 1 thing should be clear to Steelers fans
• First Call: Joey Porter's new coaching job; a former Steelers linebacker questions 6-week return for T.J. Watt
• CBS rules analyst says 2 crucial plays from Steelers-Bengals carry important NFL officiating lessons

While Jones is 6-foot-3, 255 pounds, Reed doesn’t have the physically imposing size that Watt, Highsmith and former Steeler Bud Dupree have had at the outside linebacker position. All of those guys are listed at 6-foot-4 or taller. Watt is 252 pounds, Highsmith is 242 and Dupree is 269.

Reed is only 235 pounds and generously listed at 6-foot-2. But he looks a lot closer in build to James Harrison who played the position at an All-Pro level at 6-foot-0, 242 pounds.

So Reed is never going to bat down as many passes as Watt does when challenging passing lanes. He’s not going to physically impose quarterbacks like Watt does. And Reed’s strength in setting the edge for rush defense did come into question in Denver.

But can Reed at least minimally replicate the leverage that Harrison played with to be effective in the Steelers defensive front?

“I’m not going to compare him to James Harrison. I’m not going to let you take me down that road,” Tomlin laughed.

For his part, while speaking to the media Monday, Reed seemed accepting of the daunting challenge to absorb much of Watt’s snap count and the scrutiny that will go with trying to fill the shoes of the reigning Defensive Player of the Year.

Malik Reed is “definitely ready” to be the next man up filing in for TJ Watt as Steelers LOLB pic.twitter.com/4TgxxgORuc

— Chris Adamski (@C_AdamskiTrib) September 12, 2022

“I’ve had a lot of snaps in the league,” Reed said. “I think God has ordered those steps in that way to be prepared for a moment like this. So when a guy does go down, you are prepared to go in and keep it rolling.”

No one is expecting Reed (and/or Jones) to “keep it rolling” as fast as Watt did. So long as he keeps the momentum rolling in the right direction enough so that other Steelers starters in the front seven such as Highsmith, Cameron Heyward and Myles Jack can step up to make a few extra plays without completely running out of their assignments in an effort to do so.

In a lot of games trying to replace Polamalu, Carter may have done that but simply having a different last name than “Polamalu” meant he wasn’t going to be good enough in the eyes of those who missed an icon at the position.

For his sake, I hope Reed gets more of a benefit of the doubt.