Grant Halverson/Getty Images Rashaan Gaulden tackles Johnny Holton of the Pittsburgh Steelers during a preseason game in 2019.
Today the Pittsburgh Steelers brought in four players for tryouts on the first day of padded practices, and one of those was a former 2018 third-round pick of the Carolina Panthers.
According to Senior NFL Reporter Albert Breer the former third-round pick in question was defensive back Rashaan Gaulden, who played his college football at the University of Tennessee.
Today’s tryout list.
Gaulden has appeared in 25 NFL games over the course of the last two seasons, almost all with the Panthers but also with the New York Giants. Over that time he accumulated 20 total tackles with two tackles for loss.
Linebacker Jermaine Grace
Another of today’s tryout players was linebacker Jermaine Grace, who entered the NFL as an undrafted free agent signee of the Atlanta Falcons in 2017 and has played for Atlanta, the Seattle Seahawks and Indianapolis Colts. He has nine total tackles and one tackle for loss during his 24 games of NFL experience. Most recently, he was with the Cleveland Browns—including a short stint on the Browns’ practice squad—but was cut on August 1, making him available for a tryout.
Steelers Try Out 2 Wide Receivers
Finally, the Steelers also brought in a pair of wide receivers today, one being Ray-Ray McCloud III, a former 2018 sixth-round pick of the Buffalo Bills who played for the Panthers last year. McCloud has appeared in 16 NFL games with one start with a total of five receptions for 36 yards. The 5-9, 190 pound receiver was cut by the Bills on July 28.
Last but not least, there’s DeAndrew White, an undrafted free agent out of the University of Alabama who has experience as a kickoff and punt returner. He was originally signed by the San Francisco 49ers in May 2015 and has also spent time with the New England Patriots, Houston Texans, Denver Broncos, and most recently, the Panthers. In 16 NFL games he has seven catches for a total of 93 yards receiving.
While tryout players face long odds in terms of getting added to the roster, it does happen from time to time. Last year undrafted rookie free agent quarterback Devlin ‘Duck’ Hodges was signed for $1,000 after a tryout, and ultimately played in eight different games, making six starts.
Announcers for the Steelers’ Season-Opener
Today we also learned that ESPN’s lead college football broadcasting team will make their NFL debut by calling the Pittsburgh Steelers-New York Giants game on Monday September 14. That is, Chris Fowler and Kirk Herbstreit will call the game—the first part of ESPN’s Monday Night Football doubleheader that evening.
Fowler and Herbstreit have worked together doing college football since the mid-nineties, and have been a broadcasting duo since 2015.
There will be no fans at MetLife Stadium that night, as per the order of New Jersey’s governor. As of today, the Steelers still plan to host fans during games at Heinz Field, albeit in a limited capacity and with a mask requirement.
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