Jason Miller/Getty Images Kevin Rader of the Pittsburgh Steelers tackles D'Ernest Johnson of the Cleveland Browns at FirstEnergy Stadium on January 3, 2021.
It’s been a relatively quiet weekend in terms of NFL roster moves, but a few former Pittsburgh Steelers players did find new jobs before Labor Day.
That includes ex-Steelers offensive lineman Joe Haeg, 29, who is signing with the Cleveland Browns, according to Mike Garafolo of NFL Network, having also visited the Raiders late last week. As noted by Garafolo, Haeg provides depth Cleveland with depth at tackle and guard. Many NFL observers expected him to do the same for the Steelers in 2022, except Pittsburgh made the former Super Bowl winner part of its final round of roster cuts.
Last year Haeg appeared in 12 games for the Steelers (with two starts), having signed with the team on March 20, 2021. But the Steelers apparently preferred to go with former Miami Dolphins captain Jesse Davis, who was acquired from the Minnesota Vikings at the cost of a conditional 2025 seventh-round pick.
Haeg entered the NFL in 2016 as a fifth-round pick of the Indianapolis Colts, having played his college football at North Dakota State. The Minnesota native made 35 starts with Indy, then spent the 2020 season in Tampa Bay, winning a Super Bowl ring and very nearly catching a touchdown pass from Tom Brady in SB LV.
Kevin Rader Joins Derrek Tuszka (And Other Ex-Steelers) in Nashville
Meanwhile, Tennessee has signed former Steelers tight end Kevin Rader to its practice squad, announcing the move not long after bringing him in for a workout. The Titans released tight end David Wells to make room for Rader, who originally signed with the Steelers in 2019. He was among the players cut on August 30, 2022, effectively displaced by 2022 sixth-round pick Connor Heyward, who slots in to the role of No. 3 tight end.
Rader originally entered the league with the Green Bay Packers in 2018 as an undrafted free agent out of Youngstown State. He appeared in six games last season (with one start), catching two passes for eight yards while playing a total of 73 snaps, as per Pro Football Reference.
One might have expected the Steelers to re-sign Rader to the practice squad, but being that he has been with the organization for the better part of three seasons, perhaps the powers-that-be didn’t anticipate any further development.
In moving to Nashville, Rader gets to re-unite with several former Steelers teammates, namely outside linebackers Bud Dupree, Ola Adeniyi and Derrek Tuszka. Dupree, a former Steelers first-round pick, signed an $82.5 million contract with the Titans in mid-March of 2021. Ola Adeniyi followed him to Nashville a week later. The Titans claimed Tuszka on waivers on September 2, 2022, a day after the Steelers elected to replace him with Jamir Jones, the player he replaced a year ago.
Pittsburgh’s Tight End Room Features a New Addition
The Steelers may have subtracted Kevin Rader from the roster but they have added former Bengals tight end Justin Rigg (to the practice squad). Rigg is a rookie undrafted free agent who signed with Cincinnati following the NFL draft, but he was waived before the Bengals set their 53-man roster.
Rigg joins a Steelers tight end room that is headlined by 2021 second-round pick Pat Freiermuth, with Zach Gentry serving as the primary backup.