The Pittsburgh Steelers are losing their second free agent of the day. Terrell Edmunds is reportedly headed to the Philadelphia Eagles, and the Houston Texans are signing WR Steven Sims. That’s according to KPRC’s Aaron Wilson, who tweeted the news moments ago.
The Texans hosted Sims on a visit earlier in the week and though he initially left without a deal, he’s circled back to the team. Sims was a restricted free agent the team chose not to tender, a decision they made with all four of their restricted free agents. Sims is a Houston native so this is a homecoming trip for him.
Sims served many roles for the Steelers’ last season, including kick and punt returner, slot receiver, and saw plenty of work in the wide receiver run game.
He finished the season with 19 punt returns for 105 yards with a long of 24 yards and 13 fair catches. He also registered 17 kickoff returns for 434 yards and a long of 89 yards. As a receiver, Sims had just 14 receptions for 104 yards on 23 total targets. He did, however, have 13 rushes for another 70 yards. Sims saw his offensive playing time increase quite a bit after the Steelers traded wide receiver Chase Claypool in early November. A good amount of those snaps came in the slot.
Pittsburgh could look to address the slot receiver position in the draft though they’ve maintained public confidence in Calvin Austin III. The 2022 fourth-round pick missed his entire rookie year due to a summer foot injury he aggravated during the fall, requiring surgery. The team also has Gunner Olszewski and they re-signed Anthony Miller, who is versatile enough to play all three wide receiver positions, early in the offseason.
Undrafted out of Kansas, Sims signed with Washington in 2019, spending two years there. He’s appeared in 41 career games, catching 75 passes but averaging only 9.1 yards per grab with five career touchdowns, all of those scores coming before his time in Pittsburgh.
Of the team’s restricted free agents, the Steelers brought back CB James Pierre on a one-year deal. They’ve now lost Sims while the other two, center J.C. Hassenauer and RB Jeremy McNichols, remain free agents. Hassenauer had a recent visit with the New York Giants.
UPDATE (7:02 PM): Sims has left this goodbye message to Steelers’ Nation.
