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When the Pittsburgh Steelers brought in Montravius Adams back in 2021, it was to help an injured defensive line that was repeatedly getting gashed on the ground. Adams hit the ground running with the Steelers and impressed enough in his five games to earn a two-year contract extension.
Last season, the Steelers bumped Adams above Tyson Alualu as the team’s starting nose tackle and while he did not play horribly, there was definitely room for improvement. That resulted in the Steelers adding multiple veterans and a high-end rookie this offseason to compete with Adams for his job.
For Adams though, he does not feel the pressure forming behind him because he knows this is a business and with the way the Steelers run things, he just sees it as extra help.
“Regardless of if you know guys are going to get cut, that’s stuff that has to happen – it’s a business – but for the most part, guys are just here to get better and help the next man,” Adams said. “So I feel like, being here, you don’t feel that the way you do with other teams.”
The Steelers do like to carry an excessive amount of defensive lineman and that trend is likely to continue in 2023. With the additions of Armon Watts, Breiden Fehoko, and second-round pick Keeanu Benton, Adams will have to win his job back in 2023. But for Adams, he does not see that as a negative thing.
“When I’m with the Steelers, I don’t really see or feel nothing as a competition,” Adams said. “Like, at the end of the day, I feel like everything here is about the team body of work.”
Adams’ experience and familiarity with the team should give him the edge over guys like Watts and Fehoko but since the team invested heavily in Benton, it feels like Adams’ time starting is winding down. He is likely to start the season as the starting nose tackle but will probably turn into a depth piece by the end of the season.
57 • Montravius Adams, Defensive Tackle, Auburn
6-foot-4, 304 pounds, 27 years old, 7th Season
Acquired: The Steelers signed Adams to their active roster off of the New Orleans Saints practice squad on Nov. 29, 2021. In the 2021 season, Adams played in five games for the Saints before being placed on the practice squad and eventually signing with the Steelers.
Last season: Adams probably played the biggest role since he entered the league last season with the Steelers. He played in all 17 games and notched nine starts. He played a career-high 281 defensive snaps and finished the season with 26 total tackles, four quarterback pressures, and one pass defended.
Adams appeared as a nose tackle and a traditional defensive tackle in 2022.
Pittsburgh Steelers defensive tackle Montravius Adams (57) warms up before a game against the Cleveland Browns.
Career: The Green Bay Packers selected Adams with the 93rd overall pick in the third round of the 2017 NFL Draft. As a rookie, Adams. He suffered a foot injury in training camp that resulted in him missing the entire preseason. Adams made his NFL debut later that season but did not start any of his seven appearances.
In 2018, Adams appeared in all 16 games for the Packers and started his first game in Week 16 against the New York Jets. Adams played 213 defensive snaps and recorded 20 combined tackles, 1.5 sacks, and six quarterback pressures. Following the season, Pro Football Focus gave Adams the highest rating of his career with a 66.8 rating. His 1.5 sacks in 2018 are the only credited sacks of Adams’ NFL career so far.
In 2019, Adams played in 14 games and started two for the Packers. He finished the season with 11 combined tackles and one quarterback pressure on 187 defensive snaps. In his final season in Green Bay, Adams only appeared in eight games and tallied 11 total tackles and two quarterback pressures.
Following the 2020 season, Adams signed with the New England Patriots but was waived prior to the season. He then signed with the New Orleans Saints and appeared in five games, starting one in 2021 before the Steelers claimed him off of the Saints’ practice squad.
In his five games with the Steelers in 2021, Adams played well for a defense that desperately needed a nose tackle after a series of injuries. He played well enough in his 171 defensive snaps to earn the second-highest PFF rating of his career (60.5). Prior to the 2022 season, the Steelers re-signed Adams to a two-year contract extension.
In total, Adams has appeared in 72 career games and has started 17 of them with 13 of those starts coming as a Steeler. He registered 85 total tackles, 1.5 sacks, one forced fumble, six quarterback hits, and six passes defended.
| Year | Team | GP | GS | Def. Snaps | Tackles | Sacks | Pressures | PFF Rating |
| 2017 | GB | 7 | 0 | 65 | 2 | 0.0 | 1 | 47.2 |
| 2018 | GB | 16 | 1 | 213 | 20 | 1.5 | 6 | 66.8 |
| 2019 | GB | 14 | 2 | 187 | 11 | 0.0 | 1 | 43.8 |
| 2020 | GB | 8 | 0 | 130 | 11 | 0.0 | 2 | 63.7 |
| 2021 | NO | 5 | 1 | 115 | 7 | 0.0 | 2 | – |
| 2021 | PIT | 5 | 4 | 171 | 8 | 0.0 | 7 | 60.5 |
| 2022 | PIT | 17 | 9 | 281 | 26 | 0.0 | 4 | 48.9 |
College: Adams was a highly-rated prospect coming out of Dooly County and committed to play at Auburn University. He played immediately as a true freshman as he appeared in 13 games for the Tigers. He totaled 20 tackles, one sack, and 1.5 tackles for loss in 2013.
In 2014, Adams started 10 of his 13 appearances and made the most of his opportunities. He finished the year with 43 total tackles, three sacks, eight tackles for loss, and one interception. In the game where he hauled in his first collegiate interception, Adams also recovered a fumble which marked the first time an Auburn played did that since 2010.
Adams started at the nose tackle position for the second season in a row in 2015 as he played in all 13 games for the Tigers and posted 44 combined tackles, 2.5 sacks, three tackles for loss, and two forced fumbles.
As a senior, Adams played at an elite level and earned All-American second team, All-SEC first team, and was a Rotary Lombardi Award semifinalist. He finished the season with 44 combined tackles, 4.5 sacks, 8.5 sacks, one interception, and one forced fumble. Adams played in the Reese’s Senior Bowl following the season.
| Year | GP | Tackles | TFLs | Sacks | INTs | FFs |
| 2013 | 13 | 20 | 1.5 | 1.0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2014 | 13 | 43 | 8.0 | 3.0 | 1 | 0 |
| 2015 | 13 | 44 | 3.0 | 2.5 | 0 | 2 |
| 2016 | 13 | 44 | 8.5 | 4.5 | 1 | 1 |
Salary cap and future: Adams is entering the second year of his two-year contract with the Steelers and will cost $3.23 million against the team’s 2023 cap space. Of his $3.23 million cap hit, he is owed $2.5 million in base salary and $732,500 in bonuses.
Adams is scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent following the 2023 season.
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