Stephon Tuitt expecting to make big plays more consistently for Steelers
Everything about Stephon Tuitt is big: his size, his contract, his expectations as a hulking end on the Pittsburgh Steelers defense.
And during a brief appearance Sunday night in the team’s exhibition game at Tennessee, so was his production.
Tuitt played just 12 snaps in the Steelers’ 18-6 victory against the Titans, but within a four-play sequence, the 6-foot-6, 303-pound lineman provided a snapshot of why he was a second-round draft pick and rewarded with a five-year, $60 million contract before the 2017 season.
First, Tuitt bulled through the Tennessee offensive line, pushed aside guard Rodger Saffold and brought down quarterback Marcus Mariota in the end zone for a safety. On the next defensive series, he completed a three-and-out for the Titans when he dropped Ryan Tannehill for a 7-yard loss.
Tuitt’s sacks were two of the seven produced by the Steelers, who have 14 after three preseason games.
“Everybody in the locker room knows I can do that all the time,” Tuitt said. “My role is to be more consistent with it and impact the game as much as I can.”
Consistency, however, is what has been lacking for Tuitt as he enters his sixth NFL season. He has been a disruptive force in spurts, and his potential to create more havoc in backfields is why the Steelers kept him away from free agency two years ago. On the eve of the season opener, Tuitt signed a five-year contract, one that would keep him and Cameron Heyward as bookends on the defensive line.
On the first two plays of the ‘17 season, Tuitt showed he was worth the investment. He chased Cleveland quarterback Deshone Kizer out of the pocket for a 1-yard gain then hounded running back Isaiah Crowell for a 9-yard loss.
Tuitt, though, tore his biceps on that play and missed two games. He injured his back later in the year, missing two others.
Last season, Tuitt sat out two games with an elbow injury but had his second-best season in terms of tackles (45) and sacks (51⁄2). Still, he has accumulated as many sacks (20) in five seasons and 70 games as Heyward has recorded over the past two seasons and 31 games.
Given Tuitt and Heyward have similar contracts, it would be reasonable for the Steelers to expect similar production. Perhaps the showing against Tennessee was a harbinger for Tuitt.
“We expect big things from him, and he’s expecting big things from him,” coach Mike Tomlin said. “He’s had a good preseason both in stadiums and out. That was not unlike what we’ve been looking at from him.”
Heyward also is interested to see the path that Tuitt’s career takes this season.
“It’s a big onus on what he can do, whether it’s rocking with the speed rush or being more physical,” Heyward said. “When he’s getting those one-on-ones, he’s winning them a lot more. He’s just got to continue to do it. It’s going to make us all better.”
The Steelers led the NFL in sacks in each of the past two seasons, and Tuitt playing at full potential would make the unit even more formidable this season. The defense has been tasked with creating more turnovers. Even though a safety doesn’t qualify, it was one of the biggest plays in the game Sunday.
It provided the Steelers a 2-0 lead, and they took the ensuing free kick and drove for a touchdown and an 8-0 advantage on the next possession. Then, the Steelers got the ball back again after Tuitt sacked Tannehill on third down.
The sacks served as a reminder of what Tuitt can bring to the defense. An unnecessary reminder, Tuitt believes.
“It’s not more me showing for other people. It’s me consistently doing it,” he said. “Within this defense, you’re going to have weeks in and weeks out when one guy is doing more than the other. We have a lot of terrific guys out there. Some weeks I’m going to be holding up two to three (players), and some other guys are going to make the plays.
“I’m really OK with how my position is.”
Joe Rutter is a TribLive reporter who has covered the Pittsburgh Steelers since the 2016 season. A graduate of Greensburg Salem High School and Point Park, he is in his fifth decade covering sports for the Trib. He can be reached at jrutter@triblive.com.
Remove the ads from your TribLIVE reading experience but still support the journalists who create the content with TribLIVE Ad-Free.