Late Tuesday, Alex Kozora passed along the word that former TCU cornerback Kevin White Jr. had signed with the Pittsburgh Steelers. Prior to the team’s Wednesday training camp practice, the team made the transaction official.
White, who originally entered the league with the Atlanta Falcons in 2015 as an undrafted free agent, was ultimately waived by them prior to the start of that regular season. He was eventually signed to the practice squad of the Arizona Cardinals last November and remained there the remainder of the season. After signing a futures contract with the Cardinals in January, White was released by Arizona in May.
In the four preseason games that White played in with the Falcons in 2015, White registered 5 total tackles.
In order to make room for White on the roster the team waived wide receiver Shakim Phillips, who had been on the Active PUP list with a sports hernia.
The Steelers also made another transaction on Wednesday as tight end Jake Phillips was signed. In order to make room for him the team waived injured tight end Mandel Dixon, who had suffered a head injury last week during practice.
Jake Phillips went undrafted this year out of UNLV and he worked out for the Steelers earlier in the offseason. Phillips measured in at just under 6’6 and 249 pounds for UNLV and he ran a 4.94 at his Pro Day. He also posted a 31.5 inch vertical and 9’5″ broad. Last season, he caught eight passes for 94 yards and a touchdown. His best season came his freshman year, hauling in 23 passes for 232 yards.
Shakim Phillips was originally signed last year as an undrafted free agent and he spent the entire 2015 season on the team’s practice squad. He missed a lot of time during the offseason due to a sports hernia.
Both Shakim Phillips and Mandel Dixon will likely revert to the team’s Reserve/injured list after clearing waivers.
Not surprisingly the Steelers chose not to do anything with injured cornerback Senquez Golson, who reportedly suffered a Lisfranc injury during Monday’s practice.
