The Pittsburgh Steelers won’t be signing LB Khaleke Hudson. According to NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo, Hudson is signing with the New Orleans Saints. It’s a one-year deal.
Hudson visited the Steelers earlier in the week. A McKeesport native, Hudson won’t return home to Pittsburgh and instead ink a deal with the Saints. A fifth-round pick in 2020, Hudson’s cut his teeth on special teams for most of his career before seeing more snaps on defense in 2023, finishing the season with 74 tackles and over 400 reps defensively. For his career, Hudson has appeared in 58 games, starting 12, with 108 career tackles and one sack.
Even after signing Patrick Queen, Pittsburgh’s been in the market for inside linebacker depth and now could turn toward the draft to round out its room. Inside linebackers coach Aaron Curry appeared at three Pro Days this year – Ohio State, Kentucky, and North Carolina – indicating the team will use a mid-round pick on the position.
Names that could be targeted from these schools include Tommy Eichenberg, Steele Chambers, Trevin Wallace, and Cedric Gray. All but Chambers are projected to be mid-round selections, likely ticketed for the third or fourth round. Or perhaps the Steelers target another veteran inside linebacker in free agency before the 2024 NFL Draft kicks off on April 25.
The top of Pittsburgh’s inside linebacker group consists of Queen, Elandon Roberts, Cole Holcomb, and Mark Robinson. But Roberts is entering the final year of the two-year contract he signed ahead of the 2023 season, Holcomb is coming off a severe knee injury with no official timetable to return, and the team has shown little faith in Robinson throughout his two-year Steelers’ career. Kwon Alexander also remains a free agent after tearing his Achilles in Week 10, the second such injury of his career.
Given the rash of injuries that the Steelers suffered at inside linebacker a season ago, they’re attempting to insulate themselves with as much depth as possible.
