After healthy scratch, DL DeMarvin Leal vows to earn way back on field for Steelers

DeMarvin Leal is so oozing with talent, he has never had to deal with what he encountered Thursday.

His coaches told him they wouldn’t be needing his services.

Leal admitted that being designated a healthy scratch by the Pittsburgh Steelers hurt.

“Definitely did,” Leal said. “But it’s the name of the business, I knew that much, and I know that (how he responds) is up to me. It’s a matter of what I do next, and it’s what I’m gonna do.”

Leal was a high-school All-American who started as a freshman in college at Texas A&M and at points late in his rookie season for the Steelers last year. He entered 2023 looking like a dynamic future piece for the defensive line.

But since starting three of the Steelers’ first four games this season, Leal’s role gradually was diminishing. Missing a Week 5 game because of a concussion didn’t help, but even when healthy, Leal was being phased out of the DL rotation. Over the four games headed into Thursday’s meeting with the New England Patriots, Leal played a total of 17 snaps.

In that sense, being an inactive shouldn’t have come as that big of a surprise. After all, the Steelers welcomed back veteran defensive lineman Montravius Adams against the Patriots after his four-game absence.

“How am I approaching it? I am just watching film more, watching more of my own film rather than just the whole thing and just seeing what I can do better with myself and looking at the play calls and seeing what I can use within the play calls to be successful,” Leal said. “And use the right type of technique and see what I see and be full speed when I do get out there.”

Leal said the coaches had given him a heads-up him he wouldn’t be in uniform for Thursday’s game. They didn’t give him a specific reason why or a specific aspect of his game that needs improvement.

“Just a matter of overall (play),” he said. “I’ve just got to … get after the week. It’s gonna be a long weekend, so make sure I come up here and get with the coaches, see what they need from me so I can be successful this week.”

Hey, Steelers Nation, get the latest news about the Pittsburgh Steelers here.