Every college free agent gets sold a bill of goods when choosing a team to sign with after they go undrafted. The number one priority, of course, is to find a team that has a roster spot open at your position. Secondary to that is a team with a strong history of retaining undrafted players.
While the Pittsburgh Steelers have a solid history of doing so, with some names like James Harrison standing out above others, more recent history over the past decade or so has not been as strong. Last year was a success with RB Jaylen Warren, but nobody made it in 2021.
This year joins the 2021 season with no rookie undrafted free agents making the initial 53-man roster, though none were expected to. Perhaps one of the rookies who had the best chance of making the team was FB Monte Pottebaum—who retired in training camp before the pads came on.
There was some post-draft optimism about the potential for OLB David Perales to make a run at a roster spot as well, though the enthusiasm dwindled after the Steelers added veteran Markus Golden to the mix a couple weeks later.
QB Tanner Morgan didn’t get much in the way of opportunities to compete for the third quarterback spot on the roster this year, though few thought that would be a serious competition. He is very unlikely to be kept on the practice squad.
DL James Nyamwaya, K B.T. Potter, and return specialist Jordan Byrd along with Morgan and Perales all survived through to the final rounds of cuts this week. Signed during or after rookie minicamp, RBs Alfonzo Graham and Darius Hagans failed to outpace veteran Anthony McFarland Jr. Graham is on the Reserve/Injured List, however. Another later addition, OLB Toby Ndukwe, survived until final cuts. As is typical, many other names came and went through the attrition of training camp, but none lasted.
Warren stands as the most notable name among rookie UDFAs to make it in many years. CB James Pierre also made it in 2020 and is still around, but his roster spot is vulnerable. They are the only two undrafted free agents to make the Steelers’ 53-man roster as rookies who remain with the team.
Many other names in the past came and went, from LBs Olasunkanmi Adeniyi and Matthew Thomas to OL Fred Johnson and WR Tyler Murphy. It’s been a while since they’ve found another Ramon Foster or an Eli Rogers or a Steve McLendon.
Still, that doesn’t mean they haven’t had success developing former college free agents who didn’t catch on elsewhere initially. They deserve credit for developing many offensive linemen, including Alejandro Villanueva and Matt Feiler, along with others like CB Mike Hilton and OL J.C. Hassenauer.
While the occasional hit on players like Warren is nice, one would hope for the Steelers’ track record to be better. It has to start with bringing in stronger UDFA classes to begin with, something that hasn’t generally been the case in recent years. That’s how we end up with years like this in which none of them make it.
