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The Pittsburgh Steelers have experienced some serious roster turnover. It appears tight end Vance McDonald is among those hoping to alleviate the absence of wide receiver Antonio Brown.
Brown's unceremonious departure left a notable void in the Steelers' offense. According to Ray Fittipaldo of the Pittsburgh Post=Gazette, Mcdonald is embracing the prospect of taking on a large role:
“It’s required, it’s definitely being asked, and I will embrace it,” McDonald said Tuesday afternoon following the first organized team activity of the week at the team’s training facility on the South Side.
It is encouraging to see that McDonald is up to the task. Pittsburgh has lost some serious firepower in recent years with the departure of Brown and running back Le'Veon Bell. While the emergence of wide receiver JuJu smith-Schuster and running back James Conner leaves plenty of hope for this hope, they will still need their other weapons to kick things up a notch.
It seems McDonald is poised to be one of them. He is coming off a career-year after finishing the 2018 campaign with 50 receptions for 610 yards and four touchdowns. The veteran had established himself as a bit of a safety net for quarterback Ben Roethlisberger underneath and in the red zone. He had seemingly been poised for a Pro Bowl year when he torched the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for 112 yards on primetime in Week 3, however, his production continued to fluctuate throughout the season. With all their recent notable losses, the onus will be on McDonald to be much more consistent moving forward.
