Being as the Pittsburgh Steelers are currently short healthy tight ends on their 90 man roster, they were forced to make a roster move on Thursday. Burt Lauten reports on Twitter that the team signed free agent tight end Nathan Overbay and waived tackle Mike Farrell on Thursday.
Overbay, the nephew of former Pittsburgh Pirates first baseman Lyle Overbay, entered the league as an undrafted free agent out of Eastern Washington with the Denver Broncos in 2010. Since that time, he has been on the practice squads of the Miami Dolphins, Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Detroit Lions.
During his college career, Overbay caught 42 passes for 601 yards and six touchdowns.
The signing of Overbay means that Matt Spaeth will most certainly not play Saturday night in the preseason opener against the New York Giants. Spaeth injured his foot Wednesday during practice and was being evaluated back in Pittsburgh on Thursday.
The Steelers are also still without the services of Heath Miller and David Johnson as well, as both remain on the Active PUP list as they continue to rehab their knees.
Farrell was originally signed as undrafted free agent out of Penn State at the conclusion of the 2013 NFL Draft.