The Pittsburgh Steelers signed a number of players. Reserve/Future contract players as they build their offseason roster. Per team, 17 players signed offseason contracts: DB Josh Bledsoe, OT Dylan Cook, DT Domenic Davis, LB Devin Harper, RB Evan Hull, DB DeSean Jamison, WR Brandon.・Johnson, G Stephen Jones, EDGE Ek Leota, WR Lance McCutcheon, DB Kyler McMichael, OG Doug Nester, LB Thomas Rush, RB Aaron Champklin, DL Jacob Slade, QB Skyler Thompson, OLB Julius Wershoff.
Bledsoe, Davis, Hull, Jones, McCutcheon, McMichael, Rush, and Thompson are outside players who did not complete the season on the Steelers’ practice squad. Bledsoe, a former sixth-round pick out of Missouri, played in four NFL games with the New England Patriots during the 2022-2023 season. At the 2021 NFL Scouting Combine, he weighed 5,113 and 204 pounds.
Davis spent part of the season on the Steelers’ practice squad, bouncing back and forth between Pittsburgh and the Cincinnati Bengals. He entered college at 6,021 and 315 pounds and played in two games for the Bengals in 2022.
Hull, a third-down back from Northwestern University, was a fifth-round pick of the Indianapolis Colts in 2023 and played in two NFL games, one in 2023 and 2024, with one carry and one reception. times were recorded. Hull, from Northwestern, weighed 5,101 pounds and 209 pounds. Jones is a UDFA guard from Oregon State that the team brought in for a visit ahead of the 2024 NFL Draft. Big and powerful at 6,052 and 342 pounds, he spent this year with the Jacksonville Jaguars.
McCutcheon spent part of the fall on the Steelers’ practice squad before being drawn into the numbers game. He appeared in 10 games with the Los Angeles Rams in 2022, but was unable to catch a pass and primarily saw work on special teams. He weighs 6,021 pounds and is a massive 207 pounds.
McMichael signed with the Steelers midway through training camp to help them get through the remainder of the preseason. He also played for the Arizona Cardinals and Buffalo Bills and came from UNC at 6,001 and 201 pounds.
Rush is an undrafted linebacker out of Minnesota who spent 2023 and 2024 with the Tennessee Titans. He has not yet appeared in an NFL game. He will likely profile as a 6,031-pound, 251-pound outside linebacker in Pittsburgh. And the deal with Thompson, a former seventh-round pick of the Miami Dolphins, was previously announced. He has made three career regular season starts, including against the Seattle Seahawks in 2024.
Cook will likely spend the 2024 season on either injured reserve or the practice squad before returning to the offseason roster and trying to establish himself in the 53-man group. After making the 53-man roster in 2023 and impressing, Cook enters the 2024 season with promise and potential. However, a foot injury suffered in midsummer derailed his chances of competing for a roster spot again.
Upon reduction, Cook was placed on injured reserve and designated for return. Although he returned to action just before Halloween, he was quickly dismissed from the team and returned to the practice squad, where he spent the remainder of the season. He will likely compete for the backup tackle spot with Dan Moore Jr., who is likely to become a free agent in the summer.
Harper, who was signed to the Steelers’ practice squad in August after being cut back, entered the league in 2022 as a sixth-round pick of the Dallas Cowboys. After making his NFL debut in 2023, he spent the remainder of the season with the Cincinnati Bengals, playing through the summer of 2024.
After signing with Pittsburgh, Harper spent the entire season on the practice squad and was never promoted to the active/inactive roster. He played in 12 NFL games and recorded seven total tackles.
Coming out of the draft, Harper checked in at 6,002, 234 pounds and ran a 4.50 in the 40-yard dash.
Jamison, who went undrafted by Texas in 2023, spent part of the 2024 season on the Steelers’ practice squad. Jamison, who originally signed with the San Francisco 49ers, also spent time with the Carolina Panthers before heading to Pittsburgh.
He signed with the Steelers in mid-September as a member of the practice squad. Jamison spent the remainder of the regular season there, but was not promoted to the team’s active/inactive roster. Jamison appeared in 15 games for the Panthers as a rookie, starting and recording 10 tackles with one pass deflection. The diminutive 5-9 star primarily played outside corner while also playing on several special teams units in Carolina.
At his pro day, he ran a 4.51 40-yard dash with a 33-inch vertical jump and a 10-foot, 3-inch broad jump.
Johnson followed Russell Wilson from Denver to Pittsburgh and was signed to the team’s practice squad just before the season began. He spent most of the regular season there, but had a few cups of coffee with the Steelers, appearing in three games and playing 19 offensive snaps. In Week 5 against the Dallas Cowboys, he caught one pass for nine yards, marking his second and 10th catch. He also played in games against the New York Jets and New York Giants, but was not eligible.
The 2023 season with Wilson in Denver was even more successful, with Johnson catching 19 passes for 283 yards and four touchdowns.
Undrafted in 2022, Johnson spent most of his college career at Tennessee before transferring to UCF for his final season, where he caught 38 passes, including 11 touchdowns. Given that the Steelers’ receiver room is thin with several pending free agents, Johnson has an outside chance to compete for a roster spot in 2025. He has good size at 6,023, 195 pounds.
Leota was brought to the Steelers this year after suffering an EDGE injury and played briefly. Leota played in the team’s Week 6 win over the Las Vegas Raiders, playing 13 defensive snaps and making one tackle. He started the season with the Carolina Panthers, appearing in two games and recording a sack in the opening game.
An undrafted selection out of Auburn, he entered the league in 2023 and appeared in eight games as a rookie. He will be competing for a backup job and will need to play well on special teams this summer. Preston Smith is not expected to return, leaving one spot open for a player like Leota.
Champklin became a fleeting good story during the 2024 season. Although he was underwhelming when he arrived at training camp, he rose to prominence over the summer and quickly earned a spot on the practice squad after veteran Boston Scott was injured. He was called up after injuries to Jalen Warren and Cordarrelle Patterson.
He appeared in three games for the Steelers this season, making his NFL debut and recording 17 yards on six carries. Champklin also didn’t play much on special teams. However, the team quickly added him to the 53-man roster, preferring to play veteran Jonathan Ward instead.
Champklin was released in October, but returned to the practice squad two days later.
Slade signed a new reserve/future deal with the Steelers after signing a contract last year. The undrafted out of Michigan State University has yet to play in an NFL game. He was placed on the offseason roster and had limited minutes during the summer, so he entered training camp as a deep reserve on the defensive line. The team released him at the final cutdown and signed him back to the practice squad two days later.
At his 2023 pro day, he weighed 6,031, 285 pounds and ran a 31-inch vertical in under 5.40 seconds. Slade also spent time with the Arizona Cardinals.
Werschoff, an undrafted rookie free agent, served on the Steelers’ non-varsity roster during the 2024 offseason. The German-born player moved stateside and played college baseball at the University of Michigan before transferring to Charlotte for the 2023 season. Four games into his senior season, he injured his shoulder and missed the rest of the season.
Weighing 6,065 and 207 pounds, a unique build for an outside linebacker, Welshoff got healthy for his pro day and posted a 4.82 40-yard dash, 32.5-inch vertical and 7.01 3-cone. He was a solid run defender during the summer and had three sacks during the preseason. However, after suffering a knee injury late in the team’s final game against the Detroit Lions, Werschoff began the season on injured reserve. He was subsequently released and became a free agent, then regained his health and re-signed with the team in late November. He hasn’t played in an NFL game yet.