The Pittsburgh Steelers have handed out a number of rookie minicamp invites in recent days to young players looking for a shot at the NFL. That continued Wednesday as the Steelers dipped into the XFL to invite a player to Pittsburgh.
According to NFL insider Aaron Wilson, the Steelers extended a rookie minicamp invite to San Antonio Brahmas offensive tackle Chidi Okeke, giving the former Tennessee State product a chance to earn a spot on the 90-man roster this offseason.
Okeke is coached in the XFL by former Steelers great Hines Ward, who has the Brahmas sitting at 3-7 on the season. Okeke is a former member of the Washington Commanders, Kansas City Chiefs, Miami Dolphins and Tampa Bay Buccaneers as an undrafted free agent out of Tennessee State in 2019.
Okeke first landed with Washington as a rookie minicamp invite and earned a spot on the roster before being cut in late August of that year. From there, Okeke spent the 2019 season on the Dolphins’ practice squad and was signed to a reserve/futures contract entering the 2020 season before he was waived on March 18, 2020.
Despite landing a tryout with the Buccaneers in August of 2020, Okeke was out of football during the 2020 season before re-joining the Buccaneers on July 29, 2021. After getting waived on August 30, Okeke later spent time with the Pittsburgh Maulers in the USFL in 2022 before being selected by the Brahmas in the XFL Draft for the 2023 season.
He has played and started in six games for the Brahmas and enters the Steelers’ rookie minicamp with a shot to crack the 90-man roster. The Steelers have just four tackles on the roster in rookie Broderick Jones and veterans Dan Moore Jr., Chukwuma Okorafor and Le’Raven Clark.
