The Pittsburgh Steelers have added WR Quez Watkins back to the practice squad, according to the Steelers on X.
Roster cutdowns happened on Tuesday as every team was forced to get their 90-man roster down to 53, and Watkins was among those released by the team. The Steelers only kept five receivers on their initial 53-man roster with George Pickens, Roman Wilson, Van Jefferson, Calvin Austin III, and Scotty Miller making the cut. That left Watkins and other receivers as the odd men out, but ultimately, Watkins ended up back with the team on the practice squad.
This was the 16th and final spot on the Steelers’ practice squad.
Watkins was the fourth-leading receiver throughout training camp according to Alex Kozora’s training camp stats. He caught 18 of his 24 targets for 263 yards and 4 touchdowns.
What may have been the nail in the coffin keeping him off the 53-man roster behind a guy like Miller or Austin was his special teams gaffes in the preseason opener. He muffed one punt that resulted in a turnover and looked shaky as a return specialist. Needless to say, they ended that experiment after the first preseason game.
He is also somewhat redundant to Austin, Wilson, and Miller, who are all speedsters that operate out of the slot, though he did play 36 slot snaps and 30 snaps out wide in the preseason. Regardless, he does add some depth to a receiver room that is lacking it.
Watkins caught one of his two targets in the preseason for 10 yards.
Originally a sixth-round pick to the Philadelphia Eagles in the 2020 NFL Draft, Watkins has appeared in 49 games with the Eagles over the last four seasons. He has caught 98 of his 147 targets for 1,249 yards and 6 touchdowns. His best season came in 2021 when he caught 43 passes for 647 yards and a touchdown.
The Steelers made great use of their practice squad last season. They were able to stash veterans that they ultimately ended up needing when injuries struck the team. He can be elevated for game day three total times from the practice squad.
Along with Watkins, the Steelers signed receivers Brandon Johnson and Ben Skowronek to the practice squad. Here’s the complete list for now.
RB: Jonathan Ward, Boston Scott
FB: Jack Colletto
WR: Brandon Johnson, Ben Skowronek, Quez Watkins
TE: Rodney Williams
OL: John Leglue, Doug Nester
DL: Jacob Slade
LB: Marcus Haynes, Devin Harper, Adetokunbo Ogundeji
CB: Anthony Averett, Thomas Graham Jr., Zyon Gilbert
