(Photo by Icon Sportswire/Getty Images)
Ola Adeniyi signed a one-year contract with the Titans on Monday after the Steelers decided not to place a tender on him as a restricted free agent. Adeniyi followed his close friend and teammate Bud Dupree to Nashville, who signed a massive five-year, $82.5 million contract with the Titans in free agency.
Adeniyi is excited to join Dupree and play for the Titans. During his introductory press conference, Adeniyi called the new city that he plays in "Cashville."
“I can’t wait to get with my boy Bud,” Adeniyi said via Michael Hogan who covers the Titans for Sports Illustrated. “Shout out to Bud. I learned a lot from him. I can’t wait to get with him again. That’s my dog.”
Adeniyi said Dupree's locker was next to his in Pittsburgh and that he was always a mentor to him.
“When I came into the league, I was overweight,” Adeniyi said. “... I got to talk to him on a daily basis, man. Him, also having a struggle in his rookie year, he had advice for me. He was just an OG (original gangster) to me. Just talking about how to succeed in the league and how to make a living. Bud is probably one of the smartest guys I know financially. Learning things like that on the field and off the field from him, it was amazing.”
Adeniyi was a solid special teams player in Pittsburgh, but he never stood out as a pass rusher when it came to regular-season games. He would put on strong performances in the preseason, but he just couldn't put it together when the games mattered.
Cassius Marsh surpassed Ola Adeniyi on the depth chart last season in the wild-card playoff loss to the Browns. Highsmith suffered an ankle injury in the first quarter and was out for the rest of the game. Marsh played 46 snaps at outside linebacker, while Adeniyi received just nine defensive snaps.
That was the writing on the wall that Adeniyi's tenure with the Steelers was pretty much over. We'll have to see if Adeniyi can become more than just a special teams player in Tennessee. Adeniyi can also continue to learn a lot from Dupree, who didn't have instant success in the league, as it took the Kentucky product until his fifth year to break out and become a dominant pass-rusher.
The Steelers play the Titans at Heinz Field in 2021. The schedule release is expected to be in mid-May this year.
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