The Pittsburgh Steelers addressed their defensive line depth Tuesday — a day after losing Derrick Harmon to injured reserve because of a foot injury.
NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo reported the Steelers added fourth-year defensive end K.J. Henry to their practice squad.
“The Steelers are signing DE KJ Henry to the practice squad after his workout yesterday,” wrote Garafolo on X. “Henry was impressing with the 49ers in camp before an injury cut his summer short.”
The Washington Commanders selected Henry at No. 137 overall in the fifth round of the 2023 NFL Draft. In addition to the Commanders, Henry has also appeared in regular season games for the Cincinnati Bengals, Dallas Cowboys and Cleveland Browns.
Additionally, Henry has previously either been on the practice squad or at training camp with the San Francisco 49ers, Philadelphia Eagles and Steelers. Henry won the Super Bowl as a member of the Eagles practice squad in February 2025.
The defensive end was with the Steelers practice squad in October 2025. He had a second stint with the team on a futures contract early in the 2026 offseason.
The Steelers released Henry at the end of June. He then spent 2026 training camp with the 49ers.
Steelers Sign K.J. Henry to Practice Squad
Henry has yet to play in the regular season for Pittsburgh. But he is back for his third stint with the Steelers.
The defensive end made his most recent regular season appearance with the Browns last season. In Week 14, he played five special teams snaps for Cleveland. Henry didn’t play in any other regular season games last year.
Although he was a Day 3 selection, NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein raved about Henry’s athleticism during the 2023 NFL Draft process.
“Highly athletic edge defender with good size. Henry has upfield burst, but he tends to be a face-up rusher and will need to improve his hand usage for more effective corner turns,” Zierlein wrote. “He can be dynamic when twisting and blitzing as a moveable piece around the defensive front and he does a nice job of setting up a buttery smooth inside rush that is often too quick for tackles.
“He can dart and disrupt as a one-gapper with his hand in the ground but has more trouble than expected in setting firm edges as a run defender. Henry’s strengths and weaknesses are well-defined, with the upside to become a starter.”
Henry started three games as a rookie for the Commanders. Since then, though, he hasn’t started another contest.
In 15 NFL games, he has posted 22 combined tackles, including five for loss. He has also registered three quarterback hits, 2.5 sacks and two pass defenses. Over his college career at Clemson, Henry had 28.5 tackles for loss and 13.5 sacks in 58 games.
He probably won’t be a direct replacement for Harmon because they focus on different positions along the defensive line. But the Steelers have brought back Henry a day after Harmon landed on IR.
Harmon will miss at least four games and won’t be eligible to return until November 15 after the team’s Week 9 bye.
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