While Pittsburgh Steelers CB Luq Barcoo has yet to play a game for the team this year, he’s still getting some attention in the media. CBS Sports’ Chris Trapasso named Barcoo the seventh-best player in his latest NFL practice squad power rankings.
“I fell in love with Barcoo’s film watching him intercept nine passes (!) in 2019 at San Diego State. And while that probably was somewhat of an outlier season, it spoke to Barcoo’s innate ball-hawking talent. He too has beaten the odds — undrafted in the COVID year of 2020 but has been on six teams in four seasons and even spent the early stages of 2023 in the XFL with the San Antonio franchise. Unsurprisingly, he led the XFL with 11 pass breakups,” Trapasso wrote about Barcoo.
Barcoo was signed by Pittsburgh during the offseason, and he played well in training camp, earning a spot on the practice squad after being part of the team’s initial roster cuts. He was briefly released after Week One but was brought back to the practice squad a few days later. He has yet to be elevated or signed to the team’s active roster, but it wouldn’t be a surprise to see Barcoo stick with the Steelers throughout the offseason and have another shot at making the 53-man roster next season.
Pittsburgh is likely to let CB Levi Wallace walk in free agency, and the team could look to move Patrick Peterson to safety full-time. That would open up spots at cornerback, and while it’s a position that the Steelers will likely target in the draft and free agency, Barcoo could still compete for a job.
Other names on the list include Shaka Heyward, a cousin of Cameron and Connor Heyward, who came in at No. 9. Heyward, a linebacker who played his college ball at Duke, signed with the Cincinnati Bengals as an undrafted free agent and remains on the team’s practice squad.
The No. 1 spot on the list also belongs to an AFC North defender, as former Kansas EDGE Lonnie Phelps is currently on the Cleveland Browns’ practice squad. Phelps had 21.5 sacks during his college career, with three seasons spent with Miami (Ohio) and one at Kansas. He was undrafted in the 2023 NFL Draft.
We’ll see if any of the names on this list can make their mark in the NFL, and I’m sure that the Steelers are hoping Barcoo can make an impact beyond just being a name on the practice squad.
