The Pittsburgh Steelers made yet another transaction on Wednesday and it’s related to the team losing starting center Maurkice Pouncey to a suspension this week.
Signed to the Steelers practice squad on Wednesday was center J.C. Hassenauer and to make room for him on the unit the team released tight end Kevin Rader.
Hassenauer, an Alabama product, was with the Steelers throughout the offseason after being signed to a Reserve/Futures contract this past April. Prior to signing with the Steelers he played for the Birmingham Iron of the now defunct AAF league. He entered the NFL originally in 2018 as an undrafted free agent with the Atlanta Falcons. He spent part of his rookie season on the Falcons practice squad
Hassenauer was in training camp with the Steelers this year and played sparingly in all four preseason games. He’ll now be a Steelers practice center while Pouncey serves his suspension.
The Steelers are expected to place Pouncey on the team’s Reserve/Suspended list at some point this week and sign center Patrick Morris off the practice squad to the 53-man roster prior to the team’s Sunday road game against the Cincinnati Bengals.
