The New England Patriots have signed former Pittsburgh Steelers OT Kellen Diesch, one of several roster moves the team announced Friday.
Diesch’s signing comes after working him out Thursday. A former undrafted free agent out of Arizona State, Diesch spent the 2023 season on the Steelers’ practice squad. He never appeared in a game. After the year ended, he signed a Reserve/Futures contract in January and was carried on the roster for the first portion of the offseason.
Pittsburgh waived Diesch on May 13, shortly after the team’s three-day rookie minicamp that he was still eligible to take part in.
The Patriots will be Diesch’s fifth NFL team. He initially signed as an UDFA with the Miami Dolphins in 2022 before spending time with the Chicago Bears later in the year. He also had a stint with the Cleveland Browns, claimed off waivers one day after Pittsburgh dumped him. Two days later, he was cut with a failed physical designation.
To date, Diesch has yet to appear in an NFL game. An athletic tackle out of college, he ran a 4.89 40 ahead of the 2022 NFL Draft. But short arms and awkward body type made him a tweener fit.
Diesch becomes the second former Steelers’ offensive lineman to sign with the Patriots this calendar year. More notably, former Steelers starting right tackle Chukwuma Okorafor signed a one-year contract with the Patriots in early March. Okorafor started 59 games for Pittsburgh from 2018-2023 before falling out of favor with the coaching staff as they turned to rookie first rounder Broderick Jones.
Diesch will try to stick with the Patriots throughout the summer and latch onto their practice squad. In a corresponding move, New England released OT Tyrone Wheatley Jr., son of former NFL running back Tyrone Wheatley. Wheatley Sr. is currently the head coach at Wayne State, named to that position in 2023.
