It was a busy day on the South Side at the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex for the Pittsburgh Steelers as the franchise hosted six players for workouts in tight ends Eric Saubert and Joel Honigford, offensive linemen Lecitus Smith and Alex Pihlstrom, offensive tackle Obinna Eze, and wide receiver Denzel Mims, according to NFL Insider Aaron Wilson.
As was previously reported, the Steelers signed Mims and Eze following the workouts.
Saubert spent time with time with the Miami Dolphins in the offseason before getting hurt in training camp. He was placed on Injured Reserve on Aug. 29 by the Dolphins after signing as a free agent in the offseason and was later released with an injury settlement from IR.
Saubert was selected in the fifth round of the 2017 NFL Draft by the Atlanta Falcons. The Drake product spent two seasons with Atlanta, parts of the 2019 offseason with the New England Patriots, the then-Oakland Raiders and Chicago Bears before sticking with the Bears for the 2019-20 seasons. He played for the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2020 and then spent the 2021-22 seasons with the Denver Broncos before signing with the Dolphins.
In his career, the 6-foot-5, 253-pound Saubert has hauled in 33 passes for 282 yards and two touchdowns, playing 1,035 career snaps over six seasons.
Smith was a sixth-round pick in the 2022 NFL Draft by the Arizona Cardinals. The Virginia Tech product played in 10 games last season for Arizona, starting two. He was waived during final roster cuts this summer.
Smith competed in the 2022 Reese’s Senior Bowl after playing all over the line of scrimmage for the Hokies, seeing time at left guard, left tackle and center. Smith played 210 snaps as a rookie for the Cardinals, 202 at right guard and eight at left guard.
He graded out at a 44.8 overall as a rookie from Pro Football Focus. including a 46.6 as a run blocker and a 38.1 as a pass blocker, allowing 12 pressures and two sacks in 140 pass blocking snaps. Smith measured at 6032, 314 pounds coming out of Virginia Tech with 31 7/8-inch arms.
Pihlstrom went undrafted in the 2023 NFL Draft out of Illinois before signing with the New Orleans Saints. Pihlstrom played in 38 career games with 25 starts along the offensive line for the Illini from 2017-22.
Pihlstrom checks in at 6-foot-6, 305 pounds and played all 13 games last season at Illinois at center, earning second-team All-Big Ten honors from the coaches. Pihlstrom arrived at Illinois as a walk-on tight end before converting to the offensive line in 2020. He started games for the Fighting Illini at left guard and center.
As for Honigford, Steelers Depot’s own Alex Kozora wrote about the former Michigan tight end, who weighed in at 6050, 260 pounds at his Pro Day at Michigan, where he was primarily a blocking tight end.
