Of the 10 players that ended the 2016 season on the Pittsburgh Steelers practice squad, eight were signed to Reserve/Future contracts by the team on Monday. Defensive end Caushaud Lyons was one of the two practice squad players not signed by the Steelers to future contracts on Monday and on Tuesday he signed one with the Tennessee Titans.
Lyons not being signed by the Steelers is not overly surprising and especially being as the team chose to promote fellow defensive end Johnny Maxey to the 53-man roster over him late in the regular season.
The Steelers originally claimed Lyons off waivers from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers just prior to the start of the 2015 regular season. After spending the first three weeks of that season on the Steelers 53-man roster, Lyons was waived and ultimately signed to the practice squad where he remained the rest of the year.
Lyons was back with the Steelers in 2016 after signing a futures contract in January and after failing to make the final 53-man roster out of training camp he once again found himself back on the 10-man practice squad.
The fact that Lyons signed with the Titans isn’t overly surprising at all when you consider that Dick LeBeau continues to oversee their defense. We’ll now have to wait and see if Lyons can make the Titans final 53-man roster in 2017.
In case you’re curious, linebacker Shaquille Riddick is the other player who finished the 2016 season on the Steelers practice squad who has yet to sign a future contract as of Tuesday afternoon.
