Steelers DL Isaiahh Loudermilk On Roster Bubble?

Isaiahh Loudermilk has seen an inconsistent role in Pittsburgh since being selected in the fifth round of the 2021 draft. With the defensive lineman being pushed even further down the depth chart this offseason, there’s a chance he doesn’t reach Week 1 with the Steelers. As Mark Kaboly of The Athletic writes, training camp may “force a decision on Loudermilk,” with the reporter hinting that the fourth-year pro could ultimately earn his walking papers.

The defensive lineman had a productive college career at Wisconsin, including a 2020 campaign where he earned third-team All-Big Ten honors. That production hasn’t translated to the pros, where Loudermilk has started only five of his 42 regular-season appearances. The six-foot-seven, 293-pound defensive tackle got into 29 percent of his team’s defensive snaps as a rookie, but that number fell to 19 percent in 2022 before bottoming out at 18 percent in 2023.

In total, the 26-year-old has collected 46 tackles and one sack, and he added another three stops to his resume in a pair of postseason appearances. Loudermilk has shown some talent on special teams, culminating in a 2023 campaign where he appeared in a career-high 82 ST snaps. Still, that might not be enough to save the player’s job heading into the 2024 campaign.

Cameron Heyward, Larry Ogunjobi, and Keeanu Benton are secure atop the DL depth chart. However, the Steelers have to start preparing for an uncertain future on their defensive line. As Kaboly notes, Heyward is set to hit free agency next offseason, and Ogunjobi will be an obvious cut candidate prior to the 2025 campaign.

Loudermilk’s impending free agency means he doesn’t have a definitive spot on future iterations of Pittsburgh’s roster, and the organization started to add some youth to the unit this offseason. The team used a sixth-round pick on Logan Lee, and assuming the rookie makes the roster, that would only leave a handful of DL spots for veteran backups. Loudermilk’s ST experience could give him a leg up in that competition, although there’s a chance the team opts for more recent draft picks like 2022 third-round pick DeMarvin Leal.

Elsewhere on Pittsburgh’s defense, it sounds like linebacker Cole Holcomb could begin the 2024 season on the physically unable to perform list. As Kaboly notes, the linebacker will only be eight months removed from a serious knee injury by the time training camp opens up, and the team could look to buy themselves some time by keeping him off the field for at least the first four games of the 2024 season.