ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. —In the locker room after a narrow preseason loss to his hometown team — the one he was raised rooting for — Kevin Jobity Jr. was grateful to have had the chance to be there. The Pittsburgh Steelers ' undrafted rookie wasn't sure if his road with Mike McCarthy's team was coming to an end.
"It's hard to put into words," Jobity said. "Growing up, being a Bills fan in the household, coming to the games and stuff like that — obviously it's a new stadium — but it's just huge to be able to play in my hometown, so it's awesome."
Jobity's parents, sisters, friends and a cousin who works in the stadium were there to see his return. They're almost certainly just as amped to know his Steelers path will continue past Upstate New York after the team kept him on its 53-man roster as its seventh defensive lineman.
"He earned it," Steelers general manager Omar Khan said of the undrafted free agent defensive tackle. "I've got to give him credit. The more he was around, the more disruptive he was."
Oct 18, 2025; Syracuse, New York, USA; Syracuse Orange defensive lineman Kevin Jobity Jr. (94) reacts to a defensive play against the Pittsburgh Panthers during the second half at the JMA Wireless Dome.– Rich Barnes / Imagn Images
Before picking up football as a high school senior — and earning all-state honors as a defensive lineman — Jobity played basketball and soccer. His father played professional basketball overseas. Jobity received an 8.78 Relative Athletic Score , which ranked 258th out of 2,279 defensive tackles all-time. One of the "most comparable players" to Jobity in that aspect is the Seattle Seahawks ' Leonard Williams (8.96), the No. 6 overall pick in the 2015 NFL Draft.
Jobity, a Syracuse product who stands 6-foot-4 and tips the scale at 308 pounds, swore he wasn't pressing to make a play against Buffalo because of the circumstances.
"I always play the same," Jobity said. "Obviously, a little extra excitement being around the red and blue and stuff like that, growing up around it, but at the end of the day, I fall back on my fundamentals, my technique and that just plays for itself."
Jobity's approach worked, as he sacked Bills quarterback Shane Buechele in the exhibition finale, an impact play he manifested.
"I really envisioned it before the game," Jobity said. "I almost knew it was gonna happen, and it happened."
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