It’s a stretch to call it a “revenge game” but Pittsburgh Steelers LB Tariq Carpenter should see his former team this weekend. Once a Green Bay Packer, Carpenter expects to be playing against them this Sunday, telling 93.7 The Fan that he anticipates being elevated tomorrow afternoon.
“I get to put on that Steelers’ jersey,” Carpenter said via The Fan. “I get to actually say I’m a Steeler.”
Carpenter added his goal this weekend is to “solidify himself” with a solid outing.
The deadline for the team to make such a move is Saturday at 4 PM/EST. Carpenter would become a standard elevation to the Active/Inactive roster and would not count against the team’s 53-man roster, meaning no corresponding move would have to be made. Carpenter will return to the practice squad the following day and will not be subject to waivers.
As Adamski notes, Carpenter was a safety throughout his college career at Georgia Tech. He began flirting with the transition to inside linebacker in the pre-draft process. Added to the 2022 Senior Bowl roster mid-week due to injuries, he was tried out at inside linebacker, as we blurbed at the time.
“Replacing Florida’s Jeremiah Moon is Georgia Tech’s Tariq Carpenter, a strong safety converting to LB, now wearing #50 after wearing #2 in college. He’s 6’4 and roughly 230 pounds, making him a long and high-cut player in the middle.”
He also has a compelling story, as Dave Bryan noted when the Steelers first signed him.
Carpenter weighed in at 6027, 230 pounds at his Yellow Jackets Pro Day. There, he impressed with great workout numbers: a 4.52 40, 39-inch vertical, and 11’4″ broad jump. The Packers drafted him in the seventh round, and he appeared in 14 games as a rookie, recording eight tackles while primarily playing on special teams. Green Bay held onto him throughout this summer before releasing him at final cutdowns. He signed with the Steelers’ practice squad in early September.
With LB Cole Holcomb out for the season and Elandon Roberts battling a knee injury, the Steelers need inside linebacker depth. Carpenter probably won’t see action on defense, Mark Robinson is the one who could have an elevated role there, but will likely play on special teams.
The Steelers’ coverage teams must be strong this weekend against dangerous Packers return man Keisean Nixon, a 2022 All-Pro returner. If Carpenter can hold his own, it may be the first step to landing a full-time spot on the team’s 53-man roster. Pittsburgh figures to add a fourth ILB to its 53 at some point, likely at the expense of RB Godwin Igwebuike, now the fourth-string running back with RB Anthony McFarland Jr. activated off IR.
