The Pittsburgh Steelers signed two players to their practice squad Tuesday, the team announced moments ago. They added C Ryan McCollum and S Scott Nelson. In corresponding moves, the team released P Jordan Berry and WR Jaquarii Roberson.
McCollum was signed to the Steelers’ training camp roster during the summer. He was signed to the team’s practice squad to begin the season and was released last week to make way for CB Mark Gilbert. Now, he’s back on the team’s roster. McCollum has mostly played center in his career, logging 101 offensive snaps for the Detroit Lions last year.
Nelson is an athletic safety out of Wisconsin. Weighing in at 6’2, 203, he ran a 4.49 with a 39.5 inch vertical and 10’6″ broad jump. Last year, he recorded 58 tackles and one interception. In our pre-draft profile of him, our Tom Mead wrote:
“This is a hearts and smarts player the Steelers usually have an eye on. His speed, athleticism and experience in multiple coverages are a bonus. I wouldn’t want to use him consistently as a single high safety or in Man coverage on wide receivers but he could be moved around on the defense.”
Prior to the draft, Pittsburgh held a Zoom call with him, an obvious sign of interest, so it’s no surprise to see the Steelers sign him. Nelson spent time with the Seattle Seahawks this offseason.
Berry was signed last week as an insurance policy to starting punter Pressley Harvin III, who dealt with a hip injury. Harvin played in last week’s game against the Jets and will be the team’s punter going forward. Berry served as the team’s punter 2015-2020.
Roberson has bounced on and off the Steelers’ practice squad. He’s a rookie out of Wake Forest.
