Now that the Pittsburgh Steelers have set their initial 53-man roster, they must put together their initial practice squad. With a maximum of 16 players (rookie EDGE rusher Julius Welschof is out for the year with a knee injury, meaning he’s not going to be an Internationally Exempt player here), the Steelers should be filling their taxi squad throughout the day.
Keep in mind that in past years, the Steelers haven’t always immediately gotten to the max. In some years, they’ve left a couple spots open and slowly added before Week 1. After today, the team is off through the weekend so there’s no urgency to fill out the practice squad to have as many players available for practice as possible.
Below will be an updated tracker of the reported practice squad signings the team has made. We’ll re-title it “finalized” when the Steelers officially announce their group.
UPDATE: 6:50 p.m.
The Steelers officially announced seven more to their practice squad early this afternoon. This left one open spot, which the Steelers filled with WR Quez Watkins this evening.
Practice Squad Tracker (16 of 16 spots confirmed)
RB Boston Scott
RB Jonathan Ward
FB Jack Colletto
WR Brandon Johnson
WR Ben Skowronek
WR Quez Watkins
TE Rodney Williams
OL Doug Nester
OL John Leglue
DL Jacob Slade
OLB Marcus Haynes
OLB Adetokunbo Ogundeji
LB Devin Harper
CB Anthony Averett
CB Zyon Gilbert
CB Thomas Graham Jr.
The practice squad is fluid and is subject to change, but this is the group for now. They could also still add an international player for a 17th spot on the practice squad via the NFL’s pathway program. They do not count against the 16-man practice squad limit.
There are some pretty obvious areas of focus. Three wide receivers are on the list with Ben Skowronek being the most intriguing. The former Super Bowl winner is a big body at 6-3, 224 pounds. He is a physical blocker and could be an interesting addition for Arthur Smith’s run-first offense.
The cornerback depth is also a concern, which is why they are carrying three. Thomas Graham Jr. impressed the coaching staff throughout training camp, so he provides at least some options at slot corner with Beanie Bishop Jr. the only true slot on the roster.
