Though the NFL is still months away from kicking off the 2024 season, the UFL is right around the corner. The league’s rosters were finalized over the weekend, each of the eight teams trimming their roster to 50 before Week One begins next weekend. Though they aren’t household names, two former Steelers were part of those final cuts: OLB Emeke Egbule and OL Jarrid Williams.
Egbule was released by the St. Louis Battlehawks as part of their final cuts. A sixth round pick of the Los Angeles Chargers in 2019, he spent just a few months on the Steelers’ roster. After spending four training camps with the Chargers, he was waived for good in August of 2022 and signed to Pittsburgh’s practice squad in December of that year. He never appeared in a game but signed a Reserve/Future contract after the ’22 season ended, carried until May when he was waived.
From there, he spent time in the CFL before joining the Battlehawks. To date, Egbule has appeared in 32 NFL games, recording 13 tackles and seeing most of his time on special teams. Perhaps mid-season UFL injuries will bring him back.
Williams was waived by the San Antonio Brahmas. The more recent Steeler of the two names, he signed with Pittsburgh in June of 2023. Initially with the cross-state Philadelphia Eagles, he spent chunks of the 2022 season on their practice squad. A college tackle, the Steelers shifted him to guard the first few days of training camp. But Williams had the distinction of being the first player cut in Latrobe, waived to make room for LB Kwon Alexander, who inked a deal with the Steelers after visiting the club earlier in the summer. Our camp note on Williams was brief and hardly worth passing along, not even making it to the team’s first fully-padded practice.
While they’re just footnotes on Steelers’ news, we’ve kept track of ex-Steelers in the UFL throughout the year. In the interest of thoroughness, it’s worth mentioning on an otherwise quiet Sunday. Notable Steelers who have made initial UFL rosters ahead of the spring games include: RB Anthony McFarland Jr., P Brad Wing, CB Quincy Wilson, OL Derwin Gray, S Kenny Robinson, LB Jamir Jones, LB Tuzar Skipper, WR Tyler Vaughns, and WR Hakeem Butler. This isn’t an exhaustive list of all former Steelers to make squads but are among the most recognizable names.
McFarland was a fourth round pick in 2020 who struggled to stick or stay healthy. Wing circled back to the team after years away and filled in for an injured Pressley Harvin III in 2023 while Wilson was part of the rag-tag Steelers’ secondary who beat Tom Brady in 2022. Gray was a former seventh round pick, Robinson a 2023 camp darling who faded, and Jones a special teamer. Skipper was also a once-camp darling who had several stints with the Steelers while Vaughn had a strong 2022 summer but curiously didn’t stick. Butler was a big-name signing last spring but had a poor training camp showing.
The product of the XFL and USFL merger, the UFL begins Saturday at 1 PM/EST in a game between the Birmingham Stallions and Arlington Renegades. Games throughout the year will be shown on Fox/FS1 and ESPN/ABC.
