Getty Head coach Mike Tomlin of the Pittsburgh Steelers.
According to a May 16 report by ESPN NFL insider Field Yates, the Pittsburgh Steelers have claimed — and been awarded — former Arizona Cardinals defensive end Manny Jones.
Four players were claimed off of waivers today:
– The Packers claimed T DJ Scaife
– The Rams claimed DB Vincent Gray
– The Jets claimed DB Javelin Guidry
– The Steelers claimed DE Manny Jones
Jones, 23, entered the NFL last season, signing with the Cardinals as an undrafted free agent out of Colorado State. As a rookie, the 6-foot-4, 290-pound lineman spent most of the season on Arizona’s practice squad, though he did appear in four regular-season games and recorded a half-dozen tackles, having played a total of 59 snaps, according to Pro Football Focus (PFF).
PFF gave Jones a 50.4 run defense grade in 2022, along with a 51.9 pass rush grade, crediting him with one hurry in 23 pass rush snaps.
During his collegiate career at Colorado State, the Cartersville, Ga. native played in 50 games and recorded 181 total tackles, including 86 solo tackles, 33 tackles for loss and 13.5 sacks, having played both defensive tackle and defensive end. He also intercepted one pass, forced two fumbles and recovered a fumble.
Jones will compete for a roster spot from among a group that includes Keeanu Benton, Breiden Fehoko, Armon Watts, Montravius Adams, James Nyamwaya, Jonathan Marshall and former Steelers 5th-round pick Isaiahh Loudermilk (2021), the latter of whom faces a pivotal training camp and preseason as he enters his third NFL season.
Former Bengals, Sun Devils DT Renell Wren to Injured Reserve
In effect, Manny Jones takes the roster spot that had been occupied by defensive tackle Renell Wren, who was placed on injured reserve, thereby ending his season, according to Steelers.com.
Wren joined the Steelers in Sept. 2022, added to the practice squad at the outset of the season. He remained on the practice squad until getting released in late November, only to get re-signed a week later.
Wren was a 4th-round pick of the Cincinnati Bengals in 2019 out of Arizona State. He played in 12 games during his time with the Bengals, including a pair of starts during his rookie year. To date he has been credited with nine tackles (four solo), with almost all of his regular-season action coming in 2019. He played one snap for the Steelers last season, which came against the Baltimore Ravens on New Year’s Eve.
Ex-Steelers Safety Robert Golden Addresses the Team’s Rookies
In other news, former Steelers safety/special teams captain was in Pittsburgh on Tuesday May 16, 2023, to speak to the team’s rookie class — “to tell the rookies how to make the team and how to be pros on and off the field,” as he put it in a May 15 tweet.
I left Pittsburgh in 2018 as a football player. I returned to Pittsburgh today as an inspirational speaker & CEO of Golden Charter Academy. I told the @steelers players that “football is what you do, it’s not who you are.” I am thankful the Steelers gave me this opportunity. I…
Golden originally signed with the Steelers as an undrafted free agent out of the University of Arizona in 2012. He appeared in 92 games over the course of six seasons with the Steelers (2012-17) and recorded 126 total tackles (85 solo), along with a pair of interceptions, seven passes defensed and two tackles for loss.
Today he serves as the founder and president/CEO of Golden Charter Academy, a school designed “to provide an unequaled educational experience for children in grades TK-8th in the City of Fresno (California). We prepare them to be successful in high school and beyond for the university and for the workplace.”