It has been a busy couple of days for teams all around the league, many of them hosting an extensive number of players in the early portions of Week Three for tryouts. Even the Pittsburgh Steelers were among them, getting a look at a couple of punters and a long snapper, after punter Jordan Berry has gotten off to a rough start.
There were several former Steelers whose names were among the tryout lists around the league, according to Howard Balzer (the same individual who reported Pittsburgh’s workouts), and that list of names is headed by former quarterback Landry Jones.
According to Balzer, the sixth-year player had tryouts with both the Jacksonville Jaguars and the Dallas Cowboys. The latter might be particularly fitting, given that he was named after Cowboys great Tom Landry. No signing has been reported, however.
Cowboys: S Andrew Adams; CBs David Amerson, Jeremy Boykins, Alex Carter, Michael Hunter, Jeremy Lane; WRs Chad Hansen, Justice Liggins, Francis Owusu; QB Landry Jones; LB Ufomba Kamalu; DE Cameron Malveaux; T William Poehls; DTs Christian Ringo, Adolphus Washington (signed to PS)
— Howard Balzer (@HBalzer721) September 18, 2018
Jaguars tryouts: Ts Gerhard de Beer, Christian DiLauro, Tony Garcia; QB Landry Jones; WRs Francis Owusu, Brandon Reilly, Travis Rudolph, Kendall Wright; RB Charles Sims.
— Howard Balzer (@HBalzer721) September 18, 2018
Another notable former Steeler getting a visit was safety Mike Mitchell, his second known visit. He has been a free agent since Pittsburgh released him in March. The Cincinnati Bengals brought him in among nine players for tryouts, three of whom were former Steelers.
Bengals tryouts Monday: Ss Quin Blanding, Mike Mitchell; DTs Joshua Frazier, Elijah Qualls; DE Charles Tapper.
— Howard Balzer (@HBalzer721) September 17, 2018
Joining Mitchell in Cincinnati over the past couple of days were running back Fitzgerald Toussaint and rookie defensive tackle Joshua Frazier, who was the only draft pick from the 2018 NFL Draft by the Steelers that failed to make the team’s 53-man roster.
Bengals tryouts: RBs Matthews Dayes, Troymaine Pope, Thomas Rawls, Fitzgerald Toussaint.
— Howard Balzer (@HBalzer721) September 18, 2018
All four players lost jobs in training camp. Jones, who was the backup quarterback for the past two and a half years, was beaten out by second-year quarterback Joshua Dobbs. Toussaint was beaten out by Stevan Ridley, while the rookie Frazier lost to veteran Daniel McCullers. Mitchell…well, he lost to his body.
In all four cases, there have been no reports of signings as of yet. This is the first that we have heard of teams expressing interest in Jones, with whom the Steelers somewhat surprisingly chose to part ways—surprising because it didn’t seem like a typical move the front office would make.
Mitchell is part of a deflated safety market this offseason, but most by now have found homes. We are now two weeks into the season and he has yet to find a team, though he has previously claimed that he has turned down offers.
After the Steelers released him, they signed veteran Morgan Burnett in free agency, adding Nat Berhe as well. They then drafted Terrell Edmunds in the first round and Marcus Allen in the fifth. All four are on the 53-man roster, along with starter Sean Davis and ‘veteran’ Jordan Dangerfield.
