Getty Images Pittsburgh Steelers helmet.
Today the Pittsburgh Steelers announced the signing of free agent tight end Kyle Markway. To make room for Markway on the roster the Steelers released tight end Dax Raymond with the designation waived/injured.
Raymond was with Pittsburgh for little more than a month. He was signed by the Steelers on July 20 after the Chicago Bears cut him in April. While Raymond has demonstrated a certain amount of promise in the NFL, injuries have held him back.
Last year Raymond sustained a head injury in the Bears’ preseason finale versus the Tennessee Titans, then was placed on injured reserve and waived injured. He was signed back to Chicago’s practice squad on October 14, 2019, but he never appeared in a regular season game and the Bears released him in April.
As for his college career at Utah State, Raymond caught 72 passes for 873 yards and three touchdowns in 27 career games. Some of those receptions came via quarterback Jordan Love, the 2020 first round draft pick of the Green Bay Packers.
Tight End Kyle Markway
As for Markway, Pittsburgh auditioned the University of South Carolina product earlier this week. He is the team’s second free agent addition in two days. On Friday the Steelers announced the signing of free agent wide receiver Ray-Ray McCloud.
Markway is listed at 6-4 and 250 pounds and viewed primarily as a blocking tight end, so he’ll have to make an impression on special teams to have a chance of making the roster or the practice squad. However, in his last season at South Carolina he did catch 31 passes for 349 yards and two touchdowns.
But even with those numbers his college career totals were decidedly modest, as he contributed just 37 receptions for 459 yards and three touchdowns in 39 games. He also missed extensive playing time due to injuries. In 2016 he suffered a foot injury that cost him the entire season; it was a rib injury sidelined him for almost all of the 2017 campaign.
Markway went undrafted in the 2020 NFL Draft, but caught on with the New York Giants, who released him last week.
A New Look for Saturday Night’s Practice
In other news today, the Steelers have said that the players will wear their game uniforms for Saturday night’s practice, with the offense wearing the black home jerseys and the defense wearing the road white jerseys.
“In addition, ambient in-stadium audio produced by the NFL will be tested in the stadium during practice,” according to the Steelers.
The Steelers have not yet abandoned the idea of potentially having fans at Heinz Field this season, but they know there will be no fans in attendance at the team’s regular season opener on Monday September 14 at MetLife Stadium, this by order of the governor of New Jersey.
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