The Pittsburgh Steelers worked out veteran DB Eric Rowe on Friday, according to NFL Insider Aaron Wilson via the league’s official transaction log.
Rowe, 31, was originally drafted in the second round of the 2015 NFL Draft by the Philadelphia Eagles. But he spent just one year there before going to New England. A safety and corner throughout his career, he spent the last four season with the Miami Dolphins. In 2022, Rowe appeared in 14 games, starting six of them, and finishing the season with 56 tackles and two forced fumbles. In his career, he has 56 starts and 100 games played across three different teams and has 381 combined tackles, six forced fumbles, five interceptions, and two sacks to his name.
The best two most productive seasons of his career came in 2019 and 2020 with the Miami Dolphins where he started 29 of 32 games.
Most recently, Rowe spent this past summer on the Carolina Panthers’ offseason roster. He was waived during final cutdowns but re-signed to the practice squad. The Panthers released him off it in mid-September.
Given the Steelers’ safety injuries, their workout with Rowe comes as little surprise. The team ruled out FS Minkah Fitzpatrick and SS Keanu Neal for this weekend due to hamstring and rib injuries, respectively. It’s unclear if they could return in Week 12 against the Cincinnati Bengals.
The Steelers had Rowe in for a pre-draft visit back in 2015, continuing the trend of circling back to pre-draft visitors later in their careers. Rowe is a name that Steelers Depot’s own Jonathan Heitritter tossed out as a possible free agent addition following the losses of Cameron Sutton and Terrell Edmunds during free agency in the offseason. He has plenty of pro experience under his belt already, but here is the draft profile that Alex Kozora wrote up on him back in 2015.
Mike Tomlin recently spoke about the expanded practice squad rules and the ability to stash away veterans, not for development, but so they can ready themselves in case they are needed in-season. If signed, Rowe would certainly fall in that category the same way Mykal Walker and Trenton Thompson have recently.
