The Pittsburgh Steelers made a few transactions on Saturday and those moves included an outside linebacker and a wide receiver being activated to the team’s active./inactive roster from the practice squad.
Activated from the practice squad on Saturday by the Steelers were outside linebacker Derrek Tuszka and wide receiver Cody White and both are now expected to dress on Sunday against the Cincinnati Bengals. Those activations were needed because the Steelers will be without starting outside linebackers T.J. Watt and Alex Highsmith and wide receiver Diontae Johnson on Sunday as all three have been ruled out on the team’s injury report with injuries.
Tuszka, who played college football at North Dakota State, was originally selected by the Denver Broncos in the seventh round of the 2020 NFL Draft. He started the 2020 season on the Broncos practice squad and was elevated a few times to their active/inactive roster early in the season. A hamstring injury then forced Tuszka to the Broncos Reserve/Injured list for several weeks. He ended the 2020 season on the Broncos 53-man roster following his activation from the Reserve/Injured list. The Broncos, however, waived Tuszka prior to Week 1 of this season and the Steelers then signed him to their practice squad.
As for White, the Steelers signed him to their practice squad after the preseason ended. A Michigan State product, White spent most of the 2020 season on the Steelers practice squad after being signed by the team just after the start of the regular season. He was originally signed last year by the Kansas City Chiefs as an undrafted free agent, and they waived the wide receiver with a non-football injury designation in late July. White then signed with the New York Giants in mid-August but was waived by them a few days later.
After Sunday’s game against the Bengals, both White and Tuszka will automatically revert back to the Steelers practice squad without having to pass through waivers.
