Monday kicked off the start of the Pittsburgh Steelers’ regular season. Six days away from the opener against San Francisco, the team’s focus is on Brock Purdy and company. Today, the team hit the practice field with some new names and new numbers. Fresh off filling out their 16-man practice squad, a list that included several players not part of the team’s camp roster, the Steelers released an updated list of jersey numbers.
Courtesy of Steelers.com’s Teresa Varley and the team website, here are the new digits.
21 CB Anthony Brown
33 CB Josiah Scott
41 RB Qadree Ollison
45 RB/FB Zander Horvath
49 S/LB Tariq Carpenter
72 OT Kellen Diesch
79 OG Joey Fisher
84 WR Simi Fehoko
On the 53-man roster, LB Kwon Alexander is now wearing No. 54 while LB Markus Golden is wearing No. 44, as we noted earlier today. New CB Desmond King II is also wearing No. 25. Alexander had to pick a new number to avoid duplicating RB Anthony McFarland Jr. digits while Golden is flipping back to the previous NFL jersey number he wore throughout his career prior to coming to Pittsburgh. It opened up after LB Tanner Muse was waived and claimed by the Los Angeles Chargers.
Practice squad numbers for the Steelers who spent camp with Pittsburgh remain the same. Safety Trenton Thompson is No. 17, RB Greg Bell is No. 38, WR Dez Fitzpatrick is No. 82, NT Breiden Fehoko is No. 96, CB Luq Barcoo is No. 35, OLB David Perales is No. 40, TE Rodney Williams is No. 87, and DL Jonathan Marshall is No. 91.
Brown is a former sixth-round draft pick of the Dallas Cowboys who tore his Achilles late last year. Evidently, he’s healthy now and will begin the year on the Steelers’ practice squad, capable of playing inside or outside. Scott saw action with the Philadelphia Eagles last season and picked off a pair of passes.
Ollison is a former Pitt Panther who scored four touchdowns as a rookie with the Atlanta Falcons. He was released by the Jacksonville Jaguars at final cutdowns and has the size and some special teams value the team looks for. Horvath is similarly built, a former linebacker turned fullback/running back at Purdue who spent last year with the Los Angeles Chargers.
Carpenter played safety at Georgia Tech but began converting to inside linebacker in the pre-draft process. He was drafted by the Green Bay Packers in the seventh round of the 2022 NFL Draft, appearing in 14 games as a rookie. According to the team site, the Steelers are listing him as a defensive back, suggesting they may want to move him back to safety.
Diesch is a tall and athletic tackle from Arizona State with below average length. He was with the Chicago Bears this summer after initially signing with the Miami Dolphins following the 2022 NFL Draft. Fisher is a D-II product from Shepherd. A right tackle in college and known for his strength and run blocking, putting up 40 reps at his Pro Day, he’s shifted to guard at the NFL level.
Finally, Fehoko is the cousin of Steelers nose tackle Breiden Fehoko. A fifth-round pick of the Dallas Cowboys, his 2022 season was shortened by a shoulder injury, and he’s only caught three passes in two years in the league.
Any of these players could be elevated to the team’s 53-man, active/inactive roster for their Week One matchup against the San Francisco 49ers. But the Steelers appear to be in good health and such moves might not be necessary.
