Bucks safety Keanu Neal Signed by the Pittsburgh Steelers and the team became a free agent. Neil’s agent, David Cantor, broke the news on Twitter.Neil has signed a two-year deal with Pittsburgh.
For Neal, joining the Steelers will be his fourth team in four seasons, following a one-season cameo appearance in Tampa Bay.
Last season, Neil topped the veteran minimum salary of $1,047,500. He appeared in all 17 games and made eight starts. He was a versatile, blockbuster weapon that Todd Bowles could safely use across the field, even when planning and boxing blitzes.
Bucs S Keanu Neal – Photo Credit: USA Today
Neal had a total of 63 tackles, an interception and five quarterback hits. , played well.
Perhaps his biggest game came in Week 13 against divisional rivals New Orleans Saints. Late in the fourth quarter of that contest, Andy Dalton threw a pass to his end Tatham Hill tight behind linebacker Labonte his David and cornerback Jamel Dean for a 25-yard completion and a crucial first down on his down. It looked like
This was when Neal made his mark, delivering a big hit and forcing an incomplete fourth down, a big win for the Bucks.
Keanu Neal’s weaknesses kept him from making more impact
Still, Neil has his warts as a player, and his biggest weakness lies in coverage. This was a big reason why the Dallas Cowboys experimented with him as an in-box linebacker in his 2021 season. He was targeted 27 times and gave up 22 receptions, according to PFF’s premium stats. This is his percentage of 81.5%. That gave him three touchdowns and an opposing quarterback rating of 131.9.
He also had occasional problems when tackling.he was introduced in Bucks Film Room A session in late October gives an example of how he missed taking down a ball carrier.
Neal joins the next team with the ability to make big plays, but at this point his strengths and weaknesses as a player are well defined.
