Madden Monday: Steelers' signing of Kwon Alexander signals 'more of the same' at inside linebacker
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In the wake of signing inside linebacker Kwon Alexander, it appears the Pittsburgh Steelers finally have a strategy when it comes to figuring out their eternal quest to patch over the defense’s hole at that position.
Bring in as many free agents as you can. Maybe play five or six of them at the same time and see if the officials notice that you have 16 or 17 guys on the field at once.
“Well, they’re gonna have to play five or six at a time because they don’t have any great ones, that’s for sure,” TribLIVE’s Mark Madden said during this week’s “Madden Monday” podcast.
Madden says Alexander is just “more of the same” type of player that the Steelers signed in their most recent attempts at filling the void left by Ryan Shazier when his Pro Bowl career was cut short by a spinal injury in 2017. This offseason, the Steelers had already added the likes of Elandon Roberts, Cole Holcomb, Tanner Muse and Nick Kwiatkoski as inside linebackers.
“I don’t blame them for getting him,” Madden said of Alexander. “But that’s their weakness, and they don’t have an elite defense. I’ve said many times they have a defense with several elite players but also some very exploitable holes. And the inside linebacker is one of those, and I don’t think Kwon Alexander helps with that.”
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Madden also sees this signing as “an indictment” of second-year ILB Mark Robinson’s progress. As a rookie, the converted running back out of Mississippi had flashes of impressive athleticism during the 2022 preseason and late in the regular season. But the Steelers have done nothing but stack more veterans in front of him on the depth chart this offseason.
“We keep hearing the Steelers love him, but he keeps plummeting down the depth chart,” Madden said. “He’s no longer a novice at it. He’s no longer switching to that position.”
During minicamp practices, defensive coordinator Teryl Austin said of Robinson: “We saw enough from Mark Rob that we could bring him along. Still a work in progress, still probably not quite ready, but really making good strides. … What you’re hoping for is, as he continues to improve, maybe next year he’s ready to really compete for that starting job.”
Madden isn’t buying that.
“That’s nonsense,” Madden retorted. “You don’t keep guys around for years who are fringe waiting for them to mature or learn a position. It’s just ridiculous. And, again, (signing) Kwon Alexander, that’s the indictment of Mark Robinson, and I’d even say an indictment of Holcomb and Roberts. Maybe they don’t have as much faith in them as they did just a couple of days ago when camp started.”
Also, on the podcast, Madden and I discuss how the Steelers are handling the left tackle position, the expansion of the offense, the Pirates’ plans heading into the MLB trade deadline and the latest on the Erik Karlsson trade rumors.
Source: TribLIVE
