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Four days into Pittsburgh Steelers training camp, Monte “The Mullet” Pottebaum called it quits. An undrafted free agent fullback out of Iowa, Pottebaum suddenly retired on Sunday, July 30. And just like that, his playing career was over before it even began.
Neither Pottebaum nor the organization specified what prompted the 23-year-old to abruptly hang up his cleats. He was set to compete as the team’s fullback and was the only player specifically listed at the position heading into training camp.
“Monte thought it was best for him to retire from football,” said second-year tight end Connor Heyward, via Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s Brian Batko. “We wish him the best.”
According to Batko, Heyward shared that some teammates noticed Pottebaum talking to general manager Omar Khan after the team’s July 30 morning walk-through. They presumed it was the dreaded your-being-cut conversation, but instead Pottebaum appeared on the reserve/retired list.
“We wondered if he got cut. Sometimes people have other purposes elsewhere and other priorities, so you have to let him do what he wants to do and just respect it,” Heyward said.
Undeafted rookie FB Monte Pottebaum details “Monte The Mullet”
“Seeing that guy leave, it was kind of heartbreaking,” said wide receiver Jordan Byrd said, a fellow undrafted rookie. “He was a real hard worker and a real tough guy, and I’m sorry to hear that he left, but you’ve got to follow where your heart goes.”
When asked about the subject in that day’s press conference, all Mike Tomlin had to offer was, “It is what it is.” Publicly, Tomlin does “not care” about players who aren’t available.
The Steelers will retain his rights if he decides to get back on the field. Pottebaum hails from a farming family in Larchwood, Iowa, population 926, and, as Batko pointed out, he “doesn’t have much of an internet presence, so it’s entirely possible this is the last we hear from him.”
Paging Ex-Steelers Fullback Derek Watt?
Monte Pottebaum’s retirement left a vacancy on the 90-man preseason roster, but Mike Tomlin didn’t commit to that spot being filled by another fullback.
“We’ll go into our off day and look at totality of what our needs are and make our decisions from there,” Tomlin said.
To this point, they haven’t signed a fullback, despite T.J. Watt‘s younger brother Derek Watt lingering on the free agent market. Watt had been the Steelers’ tight end from 2020 to 2022, but only played seven percent of the snaps his final two seasons, according to TribLive’s Joe Rutter. Thus, Pittsburgh could roll the dice with Connor Heyward.
Connor Heyward at Fullback on Steelers’ Depth Chart
Connor Heyward, best known as Cam Heyward’s younger brother, is listed as the sole fullback on the Pittsburgh Steelers’ first official depth chart of the 2023 season. While the depth chart is certainly fluid, he also appears as tight end three, where he was used during his rookie season. He’s a Swiss army knife oozing versatility, so he could be put just about anywhere on offense. Since the Steelers utilize fullbacks so infrequently, his functionality is what they’ll need out of the position.
Connor Heyward’s been working as the third team RB for a couple reps today. Really showing he can do a little bit of everything as a hybrid offensive skill player.
Heyward was a running back at Michigan State before converting to tight end for his final season. “He’s one of the guys who has that in his resume,” Tomlin said in an August 4 press conference. “He did both things in East Lansing. He’s done similar things for us, and it’s reasonable to expect that to continue to expand — provided he gives us the details that we expect.”
Heyward expects to continue what he’s been doing and grow within whatever position(s) he lands at. “I feel like I already was playing tight end, running back, fullback going into this year,” Heyward said via Rutter. “Whatever coaches ask of me, I’m going to do. I’m comfortable with the fullback position.”
Pittsburgh is trying Kendrick Green at fullback but it could be short-lived. If the depth chart forecasts at all the regular season, Green will revert to backup center.
Fullback Kendrick Green taking the handoff from Kenny Pickett.