The Pittsburgh Steelers have filled their two open practice squad spots with a quarterback and a safety.
Signed to the Steelers practice squad on Tuesday were quarterback J.T. Barrett and safety Tray Matthews.
Barrett, an Ohio State product, signed originally with the New Orleans Saints after going undrafted in 2018. Most of his rookie season was spent bouncing on and off the Saints practice squad. Barrett spent a few weeks on the preseason roster of the Seattle Seahawks this past summer and most recently was a member of the Saints practice squad again this season.
As a senior in 2017 at Ohio State, Barrett passed for 3,053 yards, 35 touchdowns and nine interceptions while rushing for 798 yards and 12 scores. The three-time All-Big Ten first-team selection and one-time national champion also completed a career-best 64.7 percent of his passes that season.
Matthews, who entered the NFL originally in 2018 with the Minnesota Vikings as an undrafted free agent out of Auburn, has since spent time on the practice squads of the Indianapolis Colts and Green Bay Packers.
Matthews had 59 tackles with one sack, an interception, two pass breakups and a fumble recovery in his final season at Auburn. He participated in the 2018 Senior Bowl, but did not play in the game. He did not get invited to the combine in 2018, though performed well at Auburn’s pro day.
