A former Pittsburgh Steelers cornerback has a new home. Per Aaron Wilson and the NFL’s transaction wire, the Los Angeles Chargers have signed CB Chris Wilcox to their practice squad.
He is the final player to be added to the Chargers’ 16-man practice squad. Signed by the Steelers to a Reserve/Futures contract shortly after their 2022 season ending, Pittsburgh carried Wilcox throughout the summer. He spent training camp as a backup but saw some increased playing time thanks to CB Joey Porter Jr.’s ankle injury that caused him to miss a few days and the team’s preseason opener against Tampa Bay.
According to our charting, Wilcox logged 61 snaps across the Steelers’ three preseason games. He was targeted just once, an 8-yard completion against the Buffalo Bills.
Wilcox’s play was inoffensive but hardly notable, though the team seemed to like him enough to garner reps ahead of CB Luq Barcoo. Here was our summer evaluation of Wilcox, who earned a ‘C’ grade.
“A bigger player, over six-feet tall, then I would’ve guessed, he didn’t stick out to me in camp but the team appears to like him more than I did. Wilcox saw steady playing time that seemingly increased over camp, benefitting from Joey Porter Jr. missing time. I only have him down for one target the whole preseason, a completion against for eight yards. He played a little bit of safety early in camp but I didn’t get a great feel for his summer. He could stick to the practice squad, though, and he stuck it out end to end.”
Ultimately, he didn’t land on the Steelers’ practice squad. Waived at final cutdowns, the Steelers signed back Barcoo and brought in two outside names at corner in Anthony Brown and Josiah Scott, two players with gameday experience.
A former seventh round pick of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2021, he has yet to appear in an NFL game. Coming out of BYU, he was known for his speed, running a 4.39 40-yard dash. His college production was light with just eight breakups and zero interceptions.
Pittsburgh’s practice squad officially stands at 13 with one additional player, ILB Tariq Carpenter, reportedly signed. The Steelers will add their final two spots over the coming days.
