The Pittsburgh Steelers let the contracts of five members who ended the 2020 season on the team’s practice squad expire on Monday, according to the league’s transaction sheet.
The five players that had their practice squad contracts expire on Monday were quarterback Devlin Hodges, wide receiver Deon Cain, tight end Charles Jones, running back Wendell Smallwood and kicker Matthew Wright. Four of those five players saw playing time with the Steelers at some point in the last two seasons. Only Jones and Hodges failed to get activated to the Steelers active/inactive roster during the 2020 season.
Hodges, who signed originally with the Steelers in 2019 as an undrafted free agent, threw for 1,063 yards while completing 62.5% of his passes as a rookie. He threw five touchdowns and eight interceptions for a 71.4 quarterback rating in 2019 and the Steelers went 3-3 in six games that he started.
After the Steelers re-acquired quarterback Joshua Dobbs ahead of the 2020 offseason, Hodges found himself as the fourth quarterback on the team’s depth chart and thus spent the season on the team’s practice squad.
Wright, who also spent most of the 2020 season on the Steelers practice squad, filled in three times for injured Steelers kicker Chris Boswell throughout the season. He was seven of seven on extra-point attempts and made all four field goals attempts, including three in the team’s Week 17 loss to the Cleveland Browns.
As for Cain, who also spent the entire 2020 season on the Steelers practice squad, he played in two regular games after being elevated from practice squad. He played 10 offensive snaps in total and was not targeted. Cain spent six games with the Steelers in 2019 and caught five of six passes for 72 yards.
Smallwood, a West Virginia product, signed with the Steelers as a free agent this offseason and was activated from the team’s practice squad for one game in 2020. He played just two snaps on special teams during that one regular season game.
Jones joined the Steelers practice squad in the middle of November after previously spending time with the Jacksonville Jaguars and Buffalo Bills.
The Steelers have signed 15 players to Reserve/Future contracts so far this offseason and all those players spent time on the team’s practice squad in 2020.
