Kansas Metropolis Chiefs apply squad quarterback and 2022 seventh-round draft decide Chris Oladokun defined why he is considerably grateful he was reduce by the Pittsburgh Steelers in August of that 12 months.
“[Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin] was very clear with me,” Oladokun defined throughout a current look on the “Caught In My Ideas” podcast, per Alex Kozora of Steelers Depot. “After I acquired reduce, giving me a chance to even reduce me sooner than the final reduce of the final preseason recreation simply so I may discover one other alternative. That was a blessing in disguise. I am going to all the time respect and love coach Tomlin for that. As a result of he actually did look out for me by way of that.”
Many questioned why the Steelers spent a seventh-round alternative on Oladokun shortly after they landed signal-caller Kenny Pickett within the first spherical of that 12 months’s draft. In any case, Pittsburgh additionally had free-agent signing Mitchell Trubisky and profession backup Mason Rudolph on the roster at the moment.
None of these 4 quarterbacks are with the Steelers this summer time.
“I did not even get to play within the preseason,” Oladokun recalled about his Pittsburgh tenure that lasted solely a handful of months. “That was robust for me however on the identical time, I understood we had drafted Kenny within the first spherical. We had two good veteran backups as effectively so that they had been attempting to determine that scenario.”
Whereas the Steelers are nonetheless attempting to determine their quarterback scenario, Oladokun spent nearly all of the previous two campaigns on Kansas Metropolis’s apply squad. He indicated the Chiefs had their eyes on him even earlier than he was proven the door by the Steelers.
“Legit, I acquired reduce and earlier than I even acquired to my resort, I used to be on the cellphone with the Chiefs,” Oladokun mentioned in the course of the podcast.
Oladokun probably will not take a significant snap for the Chiefs anytime quickly with veteran Carson Wentz on observe to serve as Patrick Mahomes’ backup this season. However, Oladokun sharing how Pittsburgh did proper by him two summers in the past serves as a reminder of why so many inside the NFL respect the Steelers as a top-tier group.
