No moves have been made yet, officially, but ILB Tariq Carpenter has confirmed that he expects to be on the active roster for Sunday’s game versus the Green Bay Packers. The second-year man has been on the practice squad since the start of September—and was originally listed as a defensive back.
The former Georgia Tech standout said that he began to work at linebacker earlier this offseason with the Green Bay Packers, who drafted him in the seventh round in 2022. He logged 16 defensive snaps and 122 special teams snaps for them over 12 games last season, but was not retained this year. Now, he’s not only at a new position but a new location.
“Honestly I really wasn’t worried about that. I know everything is earned”, he said on Friday, via the team’s website. “I know I’m coming in playing a new position, so I’m just kind of putting my head down, go out there on the scout team and just focus on self-development, work on techniques, working on using my hands and stuff”.
“I actually feel like a linebacker now”, he added, after talking about the extensive amount of extra work he has gotten in before and after practice with members of the coaching staff, particularly inside linebackers coach Aaron Curry. “I wasn’t always this big”, Carpenter quipped, now listed at 230 pounds at 6-3.
A four-year starter in college as a defensive back, Carpenter recorded four interceptions and 17 passes defensed at Georgia Tech, with 223 total tackles. He finished his rookie season last year with eight tackles, mostly on special teams, at the time working in the secondary.
Now, in the middle of the defense, he has come to the right place to absorb the wisdom of the older linebackers in the room. Cole Holcomb, Elandon Roberts, and Kwon Alexander are all been-there, done-that guys who have been willingly imparting knowledge to him and the other younger linebackers.
“They give us so much information and stuff”, he said. “They know that we’re young. They understand the situation of me playing a new position. They’ve just been doing a great job of breaking stuff down and I’ve been getting a lot better with it”.
Until we know exactly what the Steelers are going to do, we can’t even definitively say that he’s going to dress, though given that Holcomb’s injury leaves them with only three inside linebackers, that is very likely.
If he is to be signed to the 53-man roster, they would have to waive somebody, which would undoubtedly be RB Godwin Igwebuike. They can elevate him from the practice squad for up to three games without having to sign him to the 53-man roster, however. In neither circumstance are they required to give him a helmet, however. And yes, the Steelers have elevated a practice squad player before without dressing him. They did it last year with S Elijah Riley against the New Orleans Saints.
