In some ways to Tyler Matakevich, it’s been feeling as if he never left.
In others, it’s as if Matakevich’s return to the Pittsburgh Steelers makes it feel as if he’s joined an entirely new team.
“Obviously, there’s been a lot of changes,” the inside linebacker said on the fourth day of training camp Sunday at Saint Vincent College. “There’s some new faces around here. Shoot, when I was here there’s only a couple guys… left that I played with.”
Indeed, since Matakevich’s departure in free agency after the 2019 season, only four players on the roster at that time have continuously stuck with the Steelers since — T.J. Watt, Minkah Fitzpatrick, Chris Boswell and Cameron Heyward. A fifth, Cameron Sutton, left for a year and since came back.
Matakevich’s hiatus from black and gold lasted four years, all with the Buffalo Bills. A special-teams ace who was a seventh-round draft pick of the Steelers in 2016, Matakevich said there was “no hesitation” when the Steelers called two weeks ago wishing to sign Matakevich to their 90-man camp roster.
“There was nowhere else I would rather be,” Matakevich said.
“I am just happy to have the opportunity to come back and play for coach (Mike) Tomlin, it’s a dream come true.”
Now 31 years old, Matakevich’s appeal to the Steelers is obvious. Through an NFL career of 129 games (he’s only missed two since entering the league), Matakevich has made only one start on defense and has never played more than 72 defensive snaps in a single season.
But Matakevich is regarded as one of the NFL’s best on special teams, particularly as a tackler. Four times, Matakevich has ranked among the top 10 in the league in special-teams tackles. He tied for the lead in 2019.
That skill is more in the spotlight in 2024 after the league altered its kickoff rules. Tomlin himself cited Matakevich’s late-summer signing as a direct reaction to the format.
“You just have to be physical (as a coverage guy), get off the block and make the tackle,” Matakevich said, “and I feel like that’s a strong point to my game, and I feel like I can bring a lot of that to this team and make this unit better.”
