Given word early over the short span of three days rest between games last week that he would be starting his Pittsburgh Steelers debut, Blake Martinez immediately recognized that borderline absurdity of his situation.
Fifteen days after signing, Martinez was going to be thrown into a significant role right in the middle of the Steelers defense.
“Crazy,” Martinez said after that first game with the Steelers on Thursday. “That was my thing all week, ‘Wow, it’s been two weeks since I’ve been here — and, now it’s go time.’”
Martinez getting thrown into the fire wasn’t the first time this season the Steelers have turned to a recent outside acquisition to take on heavy duty, particularly on defense. The man Martinez replaced as the starter at left inside linebacker, Mykal Walker, himself made his first appearance for the Steelers on the first play of the game at Cleveland on Nov. 19 — 20 days after he had signed to the team’s practice squad.
Outside linebacker Kyron Johnson, running back Godwin Igwebuike and cornerback Darius Rush are other players who joined the team after the season started and have played more minor roles on gamedays in recent weeks.
Two others — running back Qadree Ollison and inside linebacker Tariq Carpenter — have made brief appearances as practice-squad call-ups after being acquired after the preseason ended. And that doesn’t even count safety Trenton Thompson, who has played a major role on the defense over the past month despite signing after camp began.
To put it in terms coach Mike Tomlin might use, attrition is a major component of life in the NFL. But for the Steelers this season on defense there has seemed to have been an inordinate number of players who have been forced to hop on the proverbial moving train.
“Any time you are jumping into a situation like that it’s going to be challenging,” Walker said, “but obviously it’s a situation you dream of. When I was at home, I was praying to get the opportunity. So at the end of the day, yeah, it’s challenging — but it’s the opportunity I wanted.”
Walker was out of football entirely for six days in late October after he’d been cut by a third team over a three-month span.
Less than three weeks later, he was a Steelers’ starter. In the loss to New England on Thursday, Walker had an interception and return deep into Patriots territory.
He’s seeking that “right spot” for his career, one that had him as a starter with the Atlanta Falcons for most of last season but now has Walker seeking to find a long-term home.
“It’s such a big mental battle at this level,” Walker said. “People don’t realize how much of a mental toll it takes to be at this level and be on a new team and try to join in, so for me it’s trying to stay mentally ready, so I like to go out there and perform and make plays but that starts with mental preparedness.”
Johnson knows the feeling. As a rookie last season he appeared in 15 of the NFL champion Philadelphia’s 17 regular-season games. But he was relegated to the Eagles’ practice squad early this season until he was cut Oct. 3 and signed to the Steelers’ practice squad seven days later.
Johnson’s contributions in two games so far have been limited to special teams. But with starting outside linebackers Alex Highsmith and T.J. Watt in concussion protocol, Johnson is aware that he is on the verge of being that “next man up.”
That’s how Martinez, Walker and Carpenter got their shot with the Steelers — season-ending injuries to starting inside linebackers Cole Holcomb and Kwon Alexander.
“It’s tough trying to fit in with a new team like this so fast in the middle of a season, but it just feels good to be on a roster and playing,” Johnson said.
“If you feel like you don’t fit in, you are just working. You aren’t trying to step on anybody’s toes — but at the same time, it’s like you’ve got to step on toes. You’ve got to be out there every day working to stand out.”
