The Pittsburgh Steelers are signing DE/OLB K.J. Henry to their practice squad, according to NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo on X.
He was brought in for a workout on Tuesday, and now will sign with the team.
Henry originally entered the league in 2023 as a fifth-round pick to the Washington Commanders. He was waived by them in 2024 at the end of training camp, then bounced on and off the rosters of the Cincinnati Bengals, Dallas Cowboys, Philadelphia Eagles and Cleveland Browns. He was most recently with the Eagles until he was released from their practice squad a week ago.
The Clemson product entered the league at 6042, 251 pounds with 33-inch arms, a 4.63-second 40-yard dash, and a 31 1/2-inch vertical.
Henry has appeared in 14 games with three starts in his career. He has 22 total tackles, 2.5 sacks, five tackles for loss, three QB hits and two passes defensed.
In addition to his work on defense, Henry has played 100 special teams snaps, including work on the kick return, punt return, field goal block, and kick coverage units.
There will need to be a corresponding move on the Steelers’ practice squad with no space to spare at the moment. It’s worth noting that they still have an open spot remaining on the 53-man roster, and it’s been that way for nearly three weeks since OG Max Scharping went to IR.
The Steelers will likely make practice squad elevations tomorrow, and now it seems like they will also announce some roster moves. They won’t have to release anybody if they sign a practice squad player to the active roster. Maybe a punt return specialist like Raheem Blackshear or Ke’Shawn Williams could make sense, or they could backfill Scharping’s spot along the offensive line with somebody like Steven Jones or Dylan Cook.
There is quite a bit of depth ahead of Henry including T.J. Watt, Alex Highsmith, Nick Herbig, Jack Sawyer and DeMarvin Leal, so maybe they just like him as a developmental prospect on the practice squad for now.
