Steelers Practice Squad: 14 Players Added, Including a Specialist

Yesterday the Pittsburgh Steelers unveiled their initial 53-man roster after a series of cuts were made.

Today Pittsburgh announced it has added 14 players to its practice squad, bringing back many of the players who were released a day earlier. Six of the players are on the defensive side of the ball and seven play offense. The team also added punter Corliss Waitman.

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Pittsburgh Steelers 2020 practice squad

In alphabetical order we have …

Cornerback Trajan Bandy, a rookie free agent signed after the draft out of the University of Miami.

Safety Antoine Brooks Jr., the team’s sixth round pick in the 2020 NFL Draft, who was voted team MVP for the Maryland Terrapins last season.

Wide Receiver Deon Cain, a sixth round pick of the Indianapolis Colts in the 2018 NFL Draft out of Clemson. He played in six games with the Steelers last season.

Offensive Tackle Anthony Coyle played at Fordham University and was most recently with the New York Guardians of the XFL. He originally entered the NFL with the Houston Texans, signed as an undrafted rookie free agent following the 2018 NFL Draft. Coyle played in 48 games at Fordham, starting 10 at right tackle and 34 at left tackle. He was first-team All-Patriot league in his last two collegiate seasons.

Wide Receiver Amara Darboh was on Pittsburgh’s practice squad in 2019 and also spent time on the 53-man roster, but never saw any game action. Darboh entered the NFL as a third round draft pick of the Seattle Seahawks in 2017.

Running Back Trey Edmunds played in 11 games with the Steelers last year, getting 22 carries for 92 yards along with six receptions for 48 yards. He also played in four games in 2018, but finished the season without a carry, seeing action mostly on special teams.

Linebacker Jayrone Elliott originally signed with the Steelers during training camp in 2019 and played in five games. In his four seasons in the NFL he has played in 43 games with the Steelers, Green Bay Packers (2014-16) and Dallas Cowboys (2017).

Offensive Tackle Derwin Gray spent the 2019 season on Pittsburgh’s practice squad after being selected by the Steelers in the seventh round of the 2019 NFL Draft.

Offensive Tackle Jarron Jones most recently toiled for the New York Guardians of the XFL. He originally came into the NFL by signing with the New York Giants as an undrafted rookie free agent following the 2017 NFL Draft, but it wasn’t until he was signed to the Seattle Seahawks practice squad that he made the switch from defensive line to offensive line.

Defensive Tackle Daniel McCullers played in 16 games with the Steelers last season and finished with eight total tackles. He was drafted by the Steelers in the sixth round of the 2014 NFL Draft.

Defensive End Henry Mondeaux spent the 2019 season on Pittsburgh’s practice squad. Mondeaux played his college football at the University of Oregon and originally signed with the New Orleans Saints following the 2018 NFL Draft.

Tight End Kevin Rader spent the majority of the 2019 season on the Steelers’ practice squad. He came into the NFL with the Green Bay Packers last year, signing as an undrafted rookie free agent after playing collegiately at Youngstown State.

Safety Curtis Riley was signed by the Steelers in training camp and made the initial 53-man roster but was later released to make way for the addition of safety Sean Davis, a former second-round draft pick of the Steelers.

Riley played in 16 games for the Raiders in 2019, including three starts, and finished the season with 34 tackles. His best NFL season came in 2018 when started all 16 games for the New York Giants, recording 75 tackles and four interceptions, including a pick-six against Washington.

Punter Corliss Waitman is a rookie undrafted free agent who punted at South Alabama where he averaged 42.7 yards per punt over the course of his college career.

UPDATE: On Monday September 7, 2020, Pittsburgh added two additional players to its practice squad: running back Wendell Smallwood and quarterback Devlin ‘Duck’ Hodges.

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