UPDATE (2;48 PM – March 20): It was new Pittsburgh Steelers QB Coach Tom Arth, along with Director of Pro Scouting Sheldon White, attending South Alabama’s Pro Day yesterday. Our original story is below.
The Pittsburgh Steelers were taking a look at South Alabama quarterback Carter Bradley Tuesday afternoon. As tweeted by Senior Bowl Director Jim Nagy, the Steelers had a quarterbacks coach on-hand to watch South Alabama QB Carter Bradley work out at his Pro Day.
Watching the work out was former NFL quarterback Philip Rivers, who praised Bradley’s skillset.
“He can throw the heck out of it,” Rivers said via AL.com, who is a friend of Bradley’s. “I mean, obviously, he’s got the arm strength to make all the throws. You saw him today. And I think he’s got a lot of experience — his career path, starting in Toledo and then making his way here and battling through some injuries along the way and finding a home here the last couple of years.”
Bradley is the son of long-time NFL coach Gus Bradley, currently the Indianapolis Colts’ defensive coordinator.
As Nagy noted, he considered Bradley to be one of the NFL Combine’s snubs. He attended the Senior Bowl, weighing in at 6030, 218 pounds with 9 3/8-inch hands. Bradley began his college career at Toledo from 2018 to 2022 before transferring to South Alabama the last two seasons. The school’s starter in 2022 and 2023, he threw for 2,660 yards, 19 touchdowns, and seven interceptions this past year. His 2022 numbers were stronger, finishing with over 3,300 yards and 28 touchdowns, though his completion percentage in 2023 was higher, 67.8 to 64.7.
Upon his arrival, he helped turn around South Alabama. In 2021, the year before he transferred, the Jaguars went 5-7. In 2022, they improved to 10-3 and making a bowl game before losing to Western Kentucky. They went 7-6 in 2023, beating Eastern Michigan in the 68 Ventures Bowl. Bradley did not play in the game due to a knee injury suffered in the regular season finale against Texas State.
Across his six years in college, Bradley attempted 1,078 passes with a 62.9 completion percentage. He threw for 8,372 yards and 61 touchdowns with 27 interceptions.
In a strong quarterback class, Bradley projects as a late round selection. Mock Draft Database currently projects him as an undrafted free agent. Pittsburgh will carry four quarterbacks to training camp and currently only have two – Russell Wilson and Justin Fields – on their roster.
We’ll have a full report on Bradley ahead of next month’s draft.
