The Pittsburgh Steelers hosted a slew of players Thursday, as the team potentially looks toward filling out its offseason roster with Reserve/Futures contracts.
According to NFL Insider Aaron Wilson, the team worked out nine total players today. All came on the offensive side of the ball. Two quarterbacks, three offensive tackles, two wide receivers, one running back, and one tight end.
Steelers Workouts
Quarterback
Matthew McKay/Elon
Adrian Martinez/Kansas State
Offensive Tackle
Tyler Beach/Wisconsin
Devery Hamilton/Duke
Hunter Thedford/Utah
Wide Receiver
Keilahn Harris/Oklahoma Baptist
Xavier Malone/Henderson State
Running Back/Fullback
Derek Parish/Houston
Tight End
Johnny Lumpkin/UL-Lafayette
Martinez is arguably the most notable name on the list. Spending most of his college career at Nebraska, he spent 2022 at Kansas State, throwing for six touchdowns in 10 games. For his career, he threw for 51 touchdowns while rushing for another 45. Undrafted, he spent time with the Detroit Lions. He recently signed with the USFL Birmingham Stallions, though those players are often allowed to get NFL looks if the league comes calling.
McKay threw for over 2,700 yards in his final season at Elon, tossing 21 touchdowns. He’s with the XFL’s San Antonio Brahmas, who reportedly just moved on from head coach Hines Ward today. A strong recruit out of high school with some outlets naming him a four-star player, McKay began at NC State before transferring to Montana State and again to Elon.
At tackle, Beach was a three-year starter for the Badgers. He spent time with the Houston Texans, kicking inside to guard. Thedford has an interesting story, a tight end at SMU before transitioning to offensive tackle, spending time with the Cleveland Browns. Hamilton started 21 games for the Blue Devils and has NFL stops with the Las Vegas Raiders and New York Giants.
Parish was a seventh-round pick of the Jacksonville Jaguars this year. A former linebacker turned fullback, he ran a 4.62 40 at his Cougars Pro Day. Initially re-signed to the team’s practice squad after failing to make the 53-man roster, he was waived by the team right before Halloween. Our Josh Carney interviewed Parish at the 2023 East/West Shrine Bowl.
Malone, an undersized player at 5-9, caught 67 passes for nearly 1,400 yards and 15 touchdowns in his final year at Henderson State. He was with the Atlanta Falcons during the summer. Harris played against the Steelers in the preseason, also with the Falcons, catching six passes for 71 yards. In his final year of college, he caught 80 passes for over 1,000 yards and seven touchdowns.
At tight end, Lumpkin has spent time on the New England Patriots and Indianapolis Colts’ rosters this offseason. He possesses good size at 6-5, 265 pounds with 35 1/4-inch arms.
While hosting nine players for workouts is an unusually high number, especially for positions not dealing with injuries, this is likely the team getting a head start on its offseason 90-man roster. Some of these players could circle back on Reserve/Future contracts after the team’s season ends either following Week 18 or in the playoffs should the Steelers advance to Wild-Card weekend.
