Former Broncos defensive end Adam Gotsis is still looking for work, but he’s hopeful that a deal isn’t too far off. The free agent says he’s able to run after undergoing ACL surgery. 
“I was hoping to get cleared to return to football, hopefully, at the start of August,” Gotsis said (via Nicki Jhabvala of The Athletic). “That’s kind of a rough date I put in my head.”
Teams haven’t gotten a close look at Gotsis because of the ongoing pandemic, but that may change in the coming weeks. Early on, doctors believed that Gotsis could miss the first quarter of the 2020 season as he healed up, but the latest news is good news. Gotsis seems to think that he’ll be ready to go in time for Week 1 and, possibly, the tail-end of offseason practices.
“I’m thinking in a hopeful way that come July, August some teams are like, ‘Well shoot, we need to bring in a D-lineman that can pick up a playbook and has played a lot of snaps and is a smart guy that can just pick up the system in a week,’” he said. “Whereas some of these rookies, in OTAs and stuff is where they really get the chance to get their feet wet with a lot of the NFL vets and then all of a sudden it’s training camp, and they really haven’t had any time working against pro guys. In a way, I think it might be an advantage to me as well in that I can come back healthy and rehabbed.”
After compiling three sacks and 38 total tackles in 16 games (12 starts) in 2018, Gotsis registered zero in nine games (three starts) last year with 16 total tackles. Gotsis also didn’t seem get the hang of Vic Fangio‘s defense. With 28 starts under his belt – and more good than bad overall on his game tape – the 27-year-old should be able to find work this summer. But, in all likelihood, it’ll come on a one-year, prove-it deal.
Steelers could use some cheap defensive line depth
Solid depth piece.