{"id":253804,"date":"2025-11-06T20:06:53","date_gmt":"2025-11-07T01:06:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/?p=253804"},"modified":"2025-11-06T20:06:53","modified_gmt":"2025-11-07T01:06:53","slug":"4-potential-destinations-for-former-steelers-third-rounder-demarvin-leal-after-release","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2025\/11\/06\/4-potential-destinations-for-former-steelers-third-rounder-demarvin-leal-after-release\/","title":{"rendered":"4 Potential Destinations for Former Steelers Third Rounder After Release"},"content":{"rendered":"

In a sudden move, the Pittsburgh Steelers are moving on from former third-round bust defensive lineman Demarvin Leal. According to reports,<\/a> the team is moving after just bringing him back to the practice squad this year, since waiving him at the end of the preseason, and his latest release might be his last with the Steelers. Originally selected as a 2022 draft pick, the former Texas A&M product was hopeful to carve a name for himself with the team, but injuries and inefficiency caught up to him. While he did get some opportunities this season to play, it wasn’t enough for him to shine to show his capabilities.<\/p>\n

Leal had high expectations, and now he hopes that he can meet them elsewhere. It’s hard to see if a team will give an opportunity, but nothing is impossible at the right price. No one is saying that he will be a prime Nnamdi Madubuike or Micah Parsons<\/a>, but he should receive some type of interest for a situational role. The defensive lineman is a healthy scratch, and while he may join the practice again for the Steelers, these four teams could easily intervene and claim off waivers.<\/p>\n

4 Potential Destinations for Former Steelers Third Rounder DeMarvin Leal After Release<\/h2>\n

<\/p>\n

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Dec 17, 2023; Jacksonville, Florida, USA; Baltimore Ravens defensive tackle Justin Madubuike (92) celebrates after beating the Jacksonville Jaguars at EverBank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-USA TODAY Sports<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

1. Baltimore Ravens<\/h3>\n

The Baltimore Ravens will need some immediate help on the defensive line, no matter the outcome of their 2025 campaign. With the retirement of Michael Pierce this past offseason, the team hasn’t found a viable replacement other than signing a cheap journeyman, John Jenkins. The team lost Nnamdi Madubuike<\/a> for the rest of the year, which is huge to their line, and while they could claim Leal, he won’t spark the unit, but it gives them some breathing room.<\/p>\n

Despite the Ravens having one of the worst secondaries this season, they should find ways to add depth on the defensive line.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"\"
Oct 5, 2025; Inglewood, California, USA; Los Angeles Chargers defensive tackle Teair Tart (90) runs on to the field for the game against the Washington Commanders at SoFi Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

2. Los Angeles Chargers<\/h3>\n

After trading for Odafe Oweh a few weeks ago, head coach Jim Harbaugh is continuing his commitment to winning football games in the trenches. However, the team never made any drastic moves to improve the defensive line. Da’Shawn Hand<\/a> wasn’t the most prestigious addition, so they must find someone who could keep the line afloat alongside Teair Tart while he’s under a one-year deal. The team’s defense hasn’t been the same since the departure of Poona Ford, but they could change the trajectory of Leal’s career with the wizard mindset of Jesse Minter.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"cameron
Main Photo: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

3. New Orleans Saints<\/h3>\n

The New Orleans Saints might not have a winning roster or a team that will be going to the playoffs this season, but they should continue to strengthen their defense. The way their quarterback situation is performing between Spencer Rattler and Tyler Shough, the Saints are still looking for their franchise guy. Luckily, the team traded for Davon Godchaux<\/a> and signed Jonathan Bullard to add some firepower, and they should add on to it by claiming Leal off waivers.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"Tershawn
Feb 9, 2025; New Orleans, LA, USA; Kansas City Chiefs defensive tackle Tershawn Wharton (98) reacts after a play during the second quarter against the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl LIX at Caesars Superdome. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

4. Carolina Panthers<\/h3>\n

The Panthers are in a similar situation to the Saints, but the team is 5-4 and could sneak in as a wild-card threat. While this is a stretch due to the talent across the NFC, the future is still bright defensively. After acquiring Tre’Von Moehrig, Tershawn Wharton and Bobby Brown, they could use some help at the line alongside Derrick Brown<\/a>. Leal won’t start, but he should be in a solid situation and work himself back to a potential starting role.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Pittsburgh Steelers are moving on from their 2022 draft bust and these four teams could rejuvenate his career. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4795,"featured_media":253805,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[36,10,30,18,28,6431,9],"tags":[7723,7739,7642,32898,8556,9509,7429,7752,7661,7366,7638,7659,32746,33293],"class_list":["post-253804","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nfl-news","category-ravens","category-panthers","category-chargers","category-saints","category-nfl-teams","category-steelers","tag-baltimore-ravens-news","tag-carolina-panthers-news","tag-chargers-featured","tag-davon-godchaux","tag-demarvin-leal","tag-justin-madubuike","tag-los-angeles-chargers-news","tag-new-orleans-saints-news","tag-panthers-featured","tag-pittsburgh-steelers-news","tag-ravens-featured","tag-saints-featured","tag-teair-tart","tag-tershawn-wharton"],"modified_by":"Anthony Palacios","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/253804","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4795"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=253804"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/253804\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":253816,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/253804\/revisions\/253816"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/253805"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=253804"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=253804"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=253804"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}