The Pittsburgh Steelers added to their practice squad today, signing LB Craig Young and re-signing OLB Ade Ogundeji, the team announced today. Ogundeji was signed to the team’s 53-man roster last week but was released on Monday. He now circles back to the practice squad.
Young was most recently with the Indianapolis Colts after a college career at Ohio State and Kansas. He signed with the Colts as an undrafted free agent back in May but was waived as part of their final roster cuts in August. He played linebacker the first three years of his college career at Ohio State before moving to more of a hybrid safety role at Kansas in 2022 and 2023. He finished his college career with 126 total tackles, six sacks and 12 tackles for a loss along with three interceptions in 49 games. He made six tackles in 55 preseason snaps for the Colts.
Young checked in at 6030 and 226 pounds at Kansas’ Pro Day. He ran a 4.57 40-yard dash and did the three-cone in 7.27 seconds. While he was primarily a safety his last two seasons at Kansas, he profiles as an NFL linebacker and the Steelers listed him as a linebacker in announcing the signing.
Ogundeji played 14 defensive snaps for the Steelers last Sunday and had two hurries against their 32-13 win over the Las Vegas Raiders. The team has clearly liked what it saw from him enough to keep him around, and he’ll continue to develop on the practice squad. With the Steelers potentially having OLB Alex Highsmith back on Sunday, the need for another EDGE on the 53-man roster was lessened, and the Steelers will keep him as practice squad depth for now. While Nick Herbig remains out with a hamstring injury, the Steelers will have Jeremiah Moon behind T.J. Watt and Highsmith if Highsmith is indeed able to return this weekend against the New York Jets.
