Jack Sawyer is headed into the 2026 season with a clearer message from Mike McCarthy: he is expected to help the Pittsburgh Steelers on defense, not live mainly on special teams. McCarthy said Sawyer should be part of the rotation, even with the edge room crowded behind TJ Watt, Alex Highsmith and Nick Herbig.
That matters because Sawyer is no longer being treated like a rookie lottery ticket. Pittsburgh picked him 123rd overall in 2025, and he answered by appearing in all 17 regular-season games, making one start and finishing with 20 tackles, three tackles for loss, six quarterback hits, one sack, two interceptions and four passes defensed. In his second preseason, he also flashed with half a sack against the Green Bay Packers and four tackles, a sack and a pass defensed against the New York Jets.
McCarthy was direct about the workload he wants to manage up front, saying he does not want Watt routinely playing more than 60 defensive snaps per game. That kind of cap only makes sense if the Steelers trust more than one backup to absorb meaningful work, and Sawyer has been identified as part of that rotation behind the established starters. The numbers from his rookie year suggest he has earned more than a token role, even if the depth chart still places him behind three proven edge rushers.
The friction is plain. Sawyer is being told he will matter on defense while sitting behind Watt, Highsmith and Herbig in a room with limited snaps to go around. Pittsburgh can promise a larger role, but it still has to divide those reps in a way that protects the starters and keeps the rush productive across a long season.
That leaves the most important question untouched for now: how many defensive snaps Sawyer actually gets once the season starts. McCarthy’s comments point to a real path into the rotation, and they also make clear the Steelers are preparing to lean on him as more than depth. What happens next will not be about whether Sawyer is included. It will be about how much of the defense he is trusted to play when the games count.
