With the conference finals participants now set, we have a clearer picture of where Pittsburgh Steelers alumni stand. A couple years ago, it was WR Antonio Brown with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers competing against RB Le’Veon Bell and the Kansas City Chiefs in the Super Bowl.
That provided Steelers fans with more compelling rooting interests, one way or another, Brown’s team ultimately victorious. While he didn’t win a Super Bowl with the Steelers, Brown, one of the greats of the game, did get to end his career with a ring.
At least one former Steeler will this year as well, though not quite at that level. We will take stock below of who on each conference finals participant once represented the Black and Gold. There are some significant names there, to be sure—and some less so.
The most notable former Steeler, in my opinion, has to be Javon Hargrave. The 2016 third-round DL has become one of the dominant interior defenders in the NFL. He was very good to great in his four seasons in Pittsburgh. The only criticism was that he priced himself off a roster that already included two top-dollar d-linemen.
Now a member of the San Francisco 49ers after signing a monster contract in the offseason, he is on the NFC’s top squad. He reached the Super Bowl last year with the Philadelphia Eagles, only to lose to the Kansas City Chiefs. There’s also WR and return man Ray-Ray McCloud, serving as the Steelers’ return man in 2020 and 2021 while catching a handful of short passes offensively. Cashing in with the 49ers in free agency, he score his first NFL touchdown with San Francisco in 2022. He’s continued to work as the team’s kick and punt returner, returning one kick and catching one pass in their win over the Green Bay Packers.
Speaking of the Chiefs, the defending champions, they have the least compelling Steelers connections. They do house one former draft pick, 2022 seventh-round QB Chris Oladokun. He has been on their practice squad for the past two years.
More notable, but also on the practice squad, is DL Isaiah Buggs, a 2019 sixth-round pick who spent three years in Pittsburgh. He found a home with the Detroit Lions the past two years but was waived at the start of the new year. He signed with Kansas City’s practice squad on Jan. 4, but he hasn’t been active yet for a game.
The Detroit Lions have two significant former Steelers on their roster, including CB Cameron Sutton, who spent six years in Pittsburgh as a former third-round pick. The Lions paid good money for him as an unrestricted free agent in 2023. Given their success, it’s hard to argue it wasn’t worth it.
They also have former Steelers DL Tyson Alualu on their practice squad. Many thought he would have retired after 13 seasons, including six in Pittsburgh, but he caught on late in Detroit and has been active the past four games as a practice squad elevation.
Last but not least is the Baltimore Ravens, who also have a Steelers connection in CB Arthur Maulet. The “angry little person” asked for his release after two seasons in Pittsburgh, signing where he felt he had a better opportunity to contribute. He missed three games but still played over 400 snaps, registering 37 tackles, two sacks, five tackles for loss, an interception, and two fumble recoveries.
WR Dan Chisena, who was waived in August and never was on a Steelers 53-man roster or practice squad, is also with the Ravens on the practice squad. He was active in their win over the Houston Texans, registering one tackle on special teams.
At least one former Steeler will once again become a Super Bowl champion in 2023. Hargrave, Sutton, and Alualu are the most significant names from the past, all in the NFC. The AFC is less compelling with a slot corner and a couple of practice squad players who’ve never played a snap for their current team. But one or more former Steelers, most likely a draft pick and quite possibly a significant former starter, will do what the Steelers haven’t done in 15 years: hoist a Lombardi.
