The Steelers desperately needed depth and they got it on Sunday

The Steelers made some wise moves to bolster depth but not without the release of a 2019 fan favorite.

The Steelers continue to show that they’re pulling out all of the stops to go big or go home in 2020. On Sunday, the team re-signed their former backup quarterback Josh Dobbs and starting safety Sean Davis to bolster the depth of their respective positions.

Devlin “Duck” Hodges was released to make room for Dobbs, and the corresponding move for Davis was safety Curtis Riley. Pittsburgh’s hope is to be able to put Riley back on the practice squad.

Davis had just signed a two-year contract with the Washington Football Team in March.

Punter dilemma?

News came down Saturday that the Steelers were bringing in punter Dustin Colquitt for a tryout to potentially supplant Jordan Berry. Colquitt has played 15 seasons to Berry’s five, but they have similar stats over the last few years. Though Colquitt has 652 fewer punt yards than Berry’s 14,495, Colquitt’s is the more consistent of the two.

Dobbs didn’t play at all for the Jaguars in 2019 and appeared in just five games in 2018. According to Pro Football Reference, he had a 50 percent completion rate and threw an interception.

Davis entered the 2019 season at free safety for the Steelers on the final year of his rookie deal. He suffered a shoulder injury and was placed on injured reserve on Sept. 17, 2019. Following his injury, the Steelers traded their first-round pick to the Miami Dolphins for Minkah Fitzpatrick.

Beyond his three-interception, 92-tackle 2017 season, Davis hadn’t lived up to his second-round draft selection. Despite that, Pittsburgh was woefully thin depth-wise after his departure. Though he didn’t perform to expectations, he won’t be expected to start this time around. When Davis is in the game, at least he’ll know the system, which is a bonus — especially this season. Hopefully lessening his load will get more out of him, so to speak.

As all claimed players do, each will have to pass a physical and go through COVID-19 testing protocols.

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