Player: CD Donte Kent
Stock Value: Down
Reasoning: Odds are the 2026 season will mark the first time the Steelers waive players drafted by Omar Khan, and Donte Kent may be among them. Through his first three draft classes, Khan has yet to take a player the Steelers have parted with for performance. The only exception thus far is S Ryan Watts, who retired due to injury. Four years into his tenure, however, the streak can only last so long, and Kent is a low man on a long totem pole.
The Steelers have Joey Porter Jr., Jamel Dean, Asante Samuel Jr., Brandin Echols, Daylen Everette, and Jalen Ramsey at cornerback, plus DeShon Elliott, Jaquan Brisker, Sebastian Castro, and Robert Spears-Jones at safety. Ramsey, of course, could play anywhere in the secondary, giving Pittsburgh some flexibility. But is Donte Kent the next-best player on the list, enough to make the 53-man roster?
A seventh-round pick in 2025, Kent spent his rookie season on the Reserve/Injured List. Second in line behind the also-injured Cory Trice Jr., he did have an opportunity to practice during the year. But like Trice, he injured himself again when he began practicing. In his case, he tore his ACL, so he is still in the recovery process.
A second-year former seventh-round pick with no experience and coming off an ACL injury that could potentially limit him at the start of training camp, Donte Kent is not in the ideal position right now. It’s already obvious that, at most, only one of himself or Trice can make this team. Of course, there could be room on the practice squad for either one of them.
As it currently stands, though, Kent is far from guaranteed to have a job come September. And the timing of his recovery is a big deal, too, because he needs as many eyes on him as possible. Last offseason, he did have the opportunity to flash a couple of times here and there. But if he is going to take a while before he can even practice, he’ll be at the bottom of the depth chart, for sure.
The Steelers also list Donte Kent as a punt returner, which is notable. Primarily, it’s notable for the fact that he has no chance of winning the punt returner job. The Steelers drafted Kaden Wetjen in the fourth round to do that, so he’s sure as hell gonna do it. And “backup punt returner” might not be enough to justify his roster spot.
With the 2025 season behind us and the new league year underway, we still have stock to take. Already promising a year of change, they are shaking things up. That is unavoidable, of course, when you gut the coaching staff. Mike Tomlin’s resignation will fundamentally change this football team, including the playoffs on the roster.
After a long season, we have finally seen that this Steelers team is playoff-bound. But they also showed that their progress was actually minimal, since they made it no further. Two years in a row, with two different quarterbacks, they went 10-7 and lost in the Wild Card Round. The only differences are that they ended the season on a higher note and won the division. But it didn’t help.