On Monday, the Pittsburgh Steelers signed 8 of their 10 practice squad players to Reserve/Future contracts and on Tuesday it was announced that a ninth member of that unit has been signed.
The Tuesday addition is defensive end Cashaud Lyons, who spent nearly the entire season on the Steelers practice squad.
Lyons actually started the 2015 season on the Steelers 53-man roster after he was claimed off waivers from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on September 6, 2015. He originally signed with the Buccaneers as an undrafted free agent out of Tusculum following the 2015 NFL Draft.
After failing to dress during the Steelers first three regular season games, Lyons was waived from the 53-man roster in order to make room for rookie linebacker Anthony Chickillo, who started the season on the team’s practice squad. After clearing waivers, Lyons was signed to the team’s practice squad.
The Steelers obviously hope that Lyons can win a backup spot on their 2016 53-man roster during training camp as the team is not expected to re-sign defensive lineman veteran Cam Thomas.
Currently, Tyler Murphy is the only player who ended the 2015 season on the Steelers practice squad who has not been signed to a futures deal.
