In addition to the Pittsburgh Steelers working out former Washington Commanders linebacker Ryan Anderson and Las Vegas Raiders tight end Rodney Williams, who both were signed to the team’s practice squad, the team also worked out edge rushers in Jamal Davis and Zach VanValkenburg, via the official NFL transaction log and reported by Pro Football Network’s Aaron Wilson.
Davis was an undrafted free agent out of Akron in 2019 and was signed by the Houston Texans. He was released in September 2019 and has bounced around the league since, spending time with the Indianapolis Colts, Miami Dolphins, Tennessee Titans, Cleveland Browns and Los Angeles Chargers. Davis also spent time in the Canadian Football League with the Montreal Alouettes.
Davis started his college career at Pitt before transferring to Akron, where he racked up 31.5 career tackles for a loss to go along with 7.5 career sacks. VanValkenburg was undrafted out of Iowa this year but spent time with the Las Vegas Raiders during the preseason. The Zeeland, Mich. native totaled nine sacks and 23.5 tackles for a loss during his career with the Hawkeyes.
The workouts were likely in response to the pec injury suffered by T.J. Watt that will knock him out for at least six weeks. Anderson has the most NFL experience and the highest pedigree out of the group, so it’s no surprise he was the one signed. For more on Anderson and Williams, check out our write-ups on the two from earlier today.
