2024 Steelers Exit Interviews: Keeanu Benton and Montravius Adams

The Pittsburgh Steelers 2024 NFL season has come to a close. Because the Steelers are among the 31 teams who did not finish fulfilling their ultimate goal, they are in the process of wrapping up their season and moving forward into 2025.

Since the Steelers conduct exit interviews with all their players, and the fact I have done these articles in the past, we thought we would do them yet again here at Steel Curtain Network. By outlining two players each day, we will be able to look at their season in retrospect as well as looking toward the future. Since Coach Tomlin has previously stated he starts his interviews with rookies and those heading into free agency, we will attempt to do the same to some degree. To start, we will pair the most recent draftees with another player at the same position (if possible) as we work through this process to eventually cover the entire Steelers roster.

Next up are defensive tackles Keeanu Benton and Montravius Adams.

Keeanu Benton

Position: Defensive Tackle
Years with the Steelers: 2
Years in the NFL: 2
Contract Status: Signed through 2026
Contract Details: $1,999,943 salary cap hit for 2025. Would cost the Steelers $1,279,922 in dead money if released and save $720,021.
Games played in 2023: 17 regular season
Games started in 2023: 14 regular season
Snaps (regular season): 641 (defense), 60 (special teams)
PFF score: 69.5 (29th of 118)
Notable stats: Benton had 36 tackles, two of which were for loss, 1.0 sacks, one fumble recovery, one interception, and 6 passes defensed.

Notes: I was looking for Benton to make a huge jump in his second season. Although his play did not fall off from his rookie season, he didn’t jump onto the scene like I was hoping to see this year. Benton finished with the exact same number of tackles, tackles for loss, and sacks as he had the previous season. Benton did have three more batted balls and an interception in year two. Now the big question is if Benton can see a jump in year three, and if he will be used more at defensive tackle instead of at nose in the Steelers base defense.

Montravius Adams

Position: Defensive Tackle
Years with the Steelers: 4
Years in the NFL: 8
Contract Status: Signed through 2025
Contract Details: $3,125,000 salary cap hit for 2025. Would cost the Steelers $875,000 in dead money if released and save $2,250,000.
Games played in 2023: 11 regular season
Games started in 2023: 0 regular season
Snaps (regular season): 188 (defense), 19 (special teams)
PFF score: 44.2 (DNQ for ranking)
Notable stats: Adams had 14 tackles, two of which were for loss, and 1.0 sacks.

Notes: I thought Montravius Adams was having a nice season before he missed time due to injury. Was it a $3 million worth season, the amount he would cost in 2025? I don’t think so. The biggest question with Adams for this season is do his contributions match his current deal. While I could see Adam’s back as part of the rotation in 2025, I could also see him as a potential salary recap casualty in order to clear up space to make improvements both on the defensive line and other places.

Make sure you check back each day for another set of exit interviews. If you have missed any of the previous articles, they are listed here:

Troy Fautanu & Broderick Jones
Zach Frazier & Ryan McCollum
Roman Wilson & Van Jefferson
Payton Wilson & Patrick Queen
Mason McCormick & James Daniels
Logan Lee & Isaiahh Loudermilk
Ryan Watts & Damontae Kazee
Joey Porter Jr. & James Pierre