Recent Steelers Cut Is ‘Visiting’ With AFC North Rival: Report

Recent Pittsburgh Steelers cut Montravius Adams received interest from an AFC North rival according to ESPN NFL insider Adam Schefter.

“Former Steelers defensive lineman Montravius Adams is visiting today with the [Cincinnati] Bengals,” Schefter reported on May 19.

Pittsburgh just released Adams in late April, following a fairly long stint with the Steelers from midway through the 2021 season up until this year’s NFL draft. The selection of first-round defensive lineman Derrick Harmon seemed to seal Adams’ fate.

Over the course of his Pittsburgh career, Adams appeared in 49 NFL outings, including the playoffs. He was credited with 21 starts, none of which came in 2024.

At his core, Adams is a space-eater defensive tackle who is utilized against the run. And yet, his run defense grades on Pro Football Focus had regressed a ton in recent seasons.

Adams earned career-worst 29.8 PFF marks against the run in 2024. Despite earning a season-long grade as high as 74.2 in this area with the Green Bay Packers in 2020.

Adams didn’t contribute much as a pass rusher during his time with the Steelers either, logging 1.0 regular-season sack and another playoff sack. He was credited with 7 total tackles for a loss and 34 quarterback pressures since joining Pittsburgh.

Steelers Are Hoping D-Line Additions Will Solve Issues Stopping the Run

The Steelers’ 2024 issues against the run were exemplified down the stretch, as Derrick Henry and the Baltimore Ravens simply ran over Pittsburgh to take the division and then eliminate them from the playoffs.

After that, one of the key priorities of the 2025 offseason became bulking up on the defensive line.

Harmon was the big addition, but Pittsburgh general manager Omar Khan also brought in veteran Daniel Ekuale in free agency and fifth-round talent Yahya Black in the draft.

Ekuale is definitely a run-stuffer by trade. According to PFF, the former New England Patriots defensive lineman was credited with 26 key defensive stops in 2024. Earning a run defense grade of 62.7.

That’s by no means elite, but it’s an upgrade on Adams. Ekuale also only missed 2 tackles in 2025, which yielded an above-average missed tackle percentage of 3.6%.

Harmon was even better against the run at Oregon and Michigan State before that. With PFF marks of 81.6 and 81.1 as a run defender over the past two seasons, respectively.

Harmon can also rush the passer, with 55 quarterback pressures in 2024, but he was a well-rounded D-lineman in college with 25 key defensive stops as a tackler.

Finally, Black is another defensive lineman who thrives as a run defender, with 58 key defensive stops for Iowa over the past two years combined. PFF graded Black’s run defense as an 81.0 in 2024 and a 71.8 in 2023.

Black also kept his missed tackle rate under 10% last season, at 9.1%. He’s less of a pass rusher than Harmon, but should provide a boost in the early downs.

Did Steelers Do Enough on the Defensive Line?

It remains to be seen whether or not Harmon, Black and Ekuale can correct the Steelers’ run defense. Obviously, a large part of that question will be determined by the two rookie draft picks and how quickly they acclimate themselves at the NFL level.

Either way, Pittsburgh is unlikely to miss Adams, who was trending downward entering his age-30 campaign.

The Bengals need a lot of help on defense, so they may give Adams a chance to win a roster spot this summer. We’ll see if the veteran defensive lineman signs in Cincy within the next 24 hours.