Last offseason around this time, the Steelers signed Hakeem Butler to their 90-man offseason roster and carried him into training camp until he was waived/injured and reverted to injured reserve, ultimately being released on Aug. 25. He was having a decent offseason for himself in the black and gold, and head coach Mike Tomlin told the media they had interest in him dating back to his days at Iowa State, saying he would get plenty of opportunities to show his big-play ability in camp.
The Steelers initially signed him from the XFL’s St. Louis Battlehawks, and that is where he has ended back up, though it is now as a part of the new UFL. He is showing out pretty well for himself at that level, currently leading the league in both receiving yards and receiving touchdowns. Through five games played, Butler has 25 receptions for 344 yards and three touchdowns. And that isn’t including the sixth game that is currently underway as I am writing this, in which he has one touchdown so far.
Butler was originally an early fourth-round pick to the Arizona Cardinals in 2019, but a broken hand robbed him of his rookie season and he was subsequently released. He bounced on and off a couple NFL rosters, and even converted to tight end with the Philadelphia Eagles for a short time. He then spent time in the CFL before moving to the XFL which led him back to the Steelers. He is 6055, 220 pounds, and ran a 4.48-second 40-yard dash, so he has a lot of attractive physical traits.
He only ended up registering one catch in the preseason games for the Steelers last year, and was dealing with an unspecified injury that eventually led to his release.
There are actually multiple former Steelers receivers showing out well in the UFL. Deon Cain, who spent time with the Steelers in 2019 and 2020, has the fourth-most receiving yards with 297 yards and one touchdown on 19 receptions. Tyler Vaughns was with the Steelers for some time in 2021 and 2022, and he currently has the sixth-most receiving yards in the UFL with 23 receptions for 239 yards and one touchdown.
Once the UFL season ends, the Steelers will likely add a couple players from the league to their 90-man roster as they have the last few years with the alternate leagues. The WR room has space for more competition, so perhaps one of those names could circle back for another opportunity in camp.
UPDATE – 5:52 PM: Here he is, scoring yet another touchdown on a nearly 40-yard pass.
