When you’re on the bubble, versatility can make or break you when it comes to the cut to the first 53.
“Everybody is fighting for a job. I particularly am fighting for a job,” DeValve said. “I take it one day at a time, come out here and I am not thinking about the results. I am just thinking about doing the best I can today, mae sure I am having fun and see what happens.”
DeValve, healthy following a concussion suffered early in training camp, lined up last Friday night at fullback, a position head coach Freddie Kitchens expects one of his tight ends to be proficient at.
“We are going to have a tight end that can do that,” Kitchens said. “He is not the only one who has done that, too. When you are trying to get the other guys work in at the tight end spot, somebody has to do the other parts of it.”
DeValve noted Tuesday afternoon that he took reps at fullback early in camp prior to suffering the concussion. Last year DeValve filled in when Orson Charles, cut earlier this month, went down and with the only fullback on the roster – Joe Kerridge – dealing with a concussion, opportunity knocks.
“He's got the body type,” Kitchens said.
“It's one of those things where the more you can do, the better your chances are. I think he's recognized that, and he's worked on that aspect of his game.”
A fourth-round pick in the 2016 NFL Draft, DeValve has 41 games – 10 starts – on his resume which also includes 48 catches for 596 yards and four touchdowns. But DeValve has never had that monster breakout game in his brief career.
He caught a career-high four passes – twice – in 2017 which also saw him catch for 70 yards in a loss to the Lions, but there’s no guarantee he’ll make this year’s team, and he understands that comes with the business of football.
“The one thing I know is the guys upstairs aren’t doing anybody any favors,” DeValve said. “They’re keeping the best guys that give them the best chance to win, so if that’s going to be me, I’d love to be here and that’s all I know for sure.”
His role has evolved into one as a blocker than receiver and if he can show Kitchens that he can do it at a high level, his odds of making the 53 improve.
His rookie season saw him miss four games due to a knee injury and a hamstring pull last season cost him three games. A quadriceps injury had him out for most of last year’s camp, yet he made the team.
This year he knows he might not be as fortunate.
“This team isn't necessarily about me, it's about the team and what the team needs as long as I'm on this team. It's expected of me to be flexible,” DeValve said.
“I just do what I am told,” Kush said, downplaying the decision. “Every day, I come here to practice, work my butt off to try and improve something, do what I am told and have as much fun as I can while I am doing it, playing this great game and trying to get better every day.”
Kush and the first team offensive line struggled last Friday at Tampa Bay, raising concerns about the ability to protect the franchise – Baker Mayfield, but Kush dipped into the ‘it’s never as good or bad as it looks’ bucket.
“I saw a lot good stuff, some great stuff out there and then some stuff to improve on that we were working out there and we were working the day before,” Kush sad. “We are going to continue to work on it.”
“You won’t see Baker,” Kitchens said.