Steelers A to Z: The newest addition to the roster, Willington Previlon is depth for D-line

Editor’s note: From now until the first practice of training camp at Saint Vincent College, TribLive is running through the Pittsburgh Steelers’ 90-man roster, looking at each player and assessing his outlook for the 2024 season. The breakdown will run in alphabetical order with at least two players each day between June 14 and July 25. Contract data courtesy spotrac.com.

DT WILLINGTON PREVILON

Experience/age: No NFL regular-season games but various practice squads over the past four years, 27

Contract status: $795,000 cap hit if he makes the team in 2024

The past: A New Jersey native blessed with a 7-foot wingspan on a 6-foot-5 frame that is currently listed at 287 pounds, Previlon stayed in state to play at Rutgers. After a redshirt season and another in which he did not play, Previlon spent 2017 and 2018 as part of the Scarlet Knights’ defensive line rotation and by his senior season was a starter who won the team MVP award and honorable mention All-Big Ten status.

Previlon was undrafted and over the past four-plus years has been bouncing around the league on offseason rosters and practice squads. He has been part of the Green Bay Packers, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Dallas Cowboys, Atlanta Falcons and now Steelers. All of last season until Week 18, he was on the Cowboys’ practice squad.

Pittsburgh Steelers DL Willington Previlon is wearing number 72. Last assigned to Kellen Diesch. #HereWeGo pic.twitter.com/8c2zklCbqC

— NFL Jersey Numbers (@nfl_jersey_num) July 2, 2024

2024 outlook: As soon as their season was over, the Falcons added Previlon in a reserve/future deal Jan. 10. But when they released him during what is typically an NFL dead period following the end of minicamps, the Steelers quickly scooped him up in the wake of the releases of veterans Trenton Thompson and Denzel Mims.

Previlon joins a deep position room with no fewer than nine others who all enter camp with legitimate belief they can not only make the team but have a role in the defense: Cameron Heyward, Larry Ogunjobi, Keeanu Benton, Dean Lowry, Montravius Adams, Isaiahh Loudermilk, DeMarvin Leal, Breiden Fehoko and rookie Logan Lee. Likely, for at least three of them, that won’t be the case. And if the others are candidates for the practice squad, that leaves Previlon battling with them as well as with Jonathan Marshall (who’s in a part of a third season with the team) and Jacob Slade. But Previlon has shown that teams like having him around. During camp, he’ll get his chance to show the Steelers.