Justin Berl/Getty Images Geno Smith of the Seattle Seahawks scrambles out of the pocket under pressure from Henry Mondeaux of the Pittsburgh Steelers during a preseason game at Acrisure Stadium on August 13, 2022.
No less than 10 former Pittsburgh Steelers players found NFL jobs on the last day of August, including 2022 seventh-round pick Chris Oladokun and 2019 third-round pick Justin Layne, the former signing to the practice squad of the Chiefs and the latter joining the Giants.
On Thursday the process of finalizing practice squads and tweaking 53-man rosters continued with former Steelers defensive lineman Henry Mondeaux joining Justin Layne on New York’s practice squad, this according to Aaron Wilson of Pro Football Network.
Giants signed Wyatt Davis, Henry Mondeaux, Tony Jefferson and Charles Wiley to the practice squad, cutting Darren Evans, Garrett McGhin, Nate Meadors and Roy Mbaeteka
Mondeaux entered the league in 2018 and appeared in 26 games for the Steelers in 2020-21. But he took a tumble down the depth chart in the wake of D-line additions like Larry Ogunjobi and 2022 third-round pick DeMarvin Leal, not to mention the return of starting nose tackle Tyson Alualu (ankle) and the emergence of backup NT Montravius Adams. As such, he was among the most recognizable names in the first round of roster cuts on August 30.
Joe Haeg Visiting the Raiders
Meanwhile, it appears that former Steelers offensive lineman Joe Haeg is also going to land on his feet. According to Mike Garofolo of NFL Network, “A few teams (are) in on” the seventh-year veteran, including the Las Vegas Raiders, who are hosting Haeg on a visit today.
Haeg, 29, entered in the NFL in 2016 as a fifth-round pick of the Indianapolis Colts out of North Dakota State. He started at right tackle for the Colts during his first two seasons in the league, but made just six starts for Indy while playing out the remainder of his rookie contract.
He signed a one-year deal with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2020, appearing in 12 games and making three starts en route to winning a Super Bowl. In fact, he very nearly caught a touchdown pass from Tom Brady during Super Bowl LV.
In March 2021, he inked a two-year, $4.6 million contract with the Steelers. Haeg appeared in 12 games last season, making two starts and playing a total of 307 snaps on offense, according to Pro Football Reference. But he was one of seven offensive linemen that Pittsburgh released during its last two rounds of roster cuts. With his contract having been terminated after one year, it triggered a $500,000 dead money cap charge for 2022, as per overtehcap.com.
Pittsburgh Has 3 Offensive Linemen on its Half-Finished Practice Squad
It’s worth noting that Pittsburgh made no effort to keep Haeg around on its practice squad, even as it re-signed three of the seven offensive linemen released on Tuesday.
Back with the Steelers are John Leglue (who first joined the team in December 2020), as well as center Ryan McCollum, a Texas A&M product who was claimed on waivers from the Detroit Lions on August 16. The third offensive lineman joining the practice squad is William Dunkle, a rookie undrafted free agent guard out of San Diego State who was initially signed on August 16.
As of noon on Thursday September 1, the Steelers still have eight spots to fill on the practice squad. If history is any indication, the majority of those eight spots will be occupied by players coming in from outside the organization.