With injuries piling up for the Pittsburgh Steelers, they figure to have a long list of tryout names on Tuesday. We know at least one of them. TE Joel Honigford worked out for the Steelers today, according to NFL Insider Jordan Schultz.
Weighing in at 6050, 260 pounds for his 2023 Pro Day, he did not run the 40. Instead, he jumped 35 inches in the vert, 9’5″ in the broad, and put up 19 reps on the bench press. At Michigan, he was used almost exclusively as a blocker, catching just one pass in college. It gained 10 yards.
He began his college career as a right tackle before slimming down and converting to tight end, though he hardly ever ran a route. His senior season, he ran just one of them. Undrafted, he spent time with the Arizona Cardinals earlier this year.
In June, the Cardinals’ team site wrote a great feature piece on him. Honigford recalled the first time he ran a route and was targeted in college, surprised to see the ball come his way.
“I really have no idea what happened,” he said via team reporter Darren Urban. “I got tackled, got up, and the first thing I thought was, ‘Don’t smile, act like you’ve been there.'”
TE Pat Freiermuth suffered a hamstring injury in Sunday’s loss over the Houston Texans. Mike Tomlin called him “very doubtful” for the Steelers’ Week Five game against the Baltimore Ravens. Besides rookie Darnell Washington, Pittsburgh lacks blocking tight ends on its roster and practice squad. Connor Heyward is undersized while the only tight end on the practice squad is Rodney Williams, a slimmer player who essentially served as a college wideout and is only a marginal in-line blocker.
We’ll update this post if Honigford is signed.
