The Pittsburgh Steelers have signed former Villanova and Indianapolis Colts ILB Forrest Rhyne, the team announced today.
In a corresponding move, ILB Chapelle Russell, who suffered a knee injury in Pittsburgh’s preseason opener on Friday, was waived/injured. Russell will likely clear waivers and revert to Pittsburgh’s injured reserve on Monday.
The news was first reported yesterday by MLFootball on Twitter.
At Villanova, Rhyne he was a first-team FCS All-American in 2021 and the Colonial Athletic Conference Defensive Player of the Year. He was a three-time first-team All-CAA member, racking up 310 tackles, 22.5 of which went for a loss, and 11.5 sacks during his career at ‘Nova. He was also a four-year honor-roll student and was named the CAA Defensive Player of the Week three times while at Villanova.
He signed with the Colts as an undrafted free agent in May 2022, and made his NFL debut in the team’s Week 12 matchup against the Steelers. While he signed a reserve/future contract with Indianapolis in January, he was waived on May 4. Rhyne had one tackle in three games with the Colts last season, which came on special teams.
Pittsburgh saw Russell and Nick Kwiatkoski exit the preseason opener with injuries, leaving the inside linebacker room depth a little bit thin. Russell’s injury was severe enough to waive/injure him, so Rhyne can fill his spot while Kwiatkoski gets healthy. Adding someone like Rhyne who can fill a special teams role (he had 48 special teams snaps last season) and just help fill out some depth will be important over the next few weeks. During his college career, he was compared to former Steelers LB Tyler Matakevich for his approach to the game.
“Once you get him in someone’s building, it’s hard to get him out,” Villanova head coach Mark Ferrante said about Rhyne back in 2021 in a Philadelphia Inquirer article detailing just how much of a film junkie he is.
The 6-foot-1, 233-pound linebacker is from Pennsylvania, growing up in Waynesboro and playing his prep ball at Waynesboro Area Senior High School, so the move also puts him closer to his hometown. Latrobe, where Rhyne will spend the week at Saint Vincent College for the remainder of Steelers camp, is just two-and-a-half hours away from Waynesboro.
