Believe it or not, players who no longer play for the Pittsburgh Steelers actually continue to exist after they depart from the team, and some of them even remain in the NFL with other teams. Many of them may attempt to succeed elsewhere but fail. As we saw yesterday, dozens of former Steelers are now free agents or subject to waivers.
While most of these players are now available for good reason, are there any reunions that might make sense? I do think we can make the case for a few former Steelers to find their way back home. One or two of them might even happen—maybe even by the time you read this. So let’s take a look at some names.
WR Brandon Boykin
I can literally feel your eyes rolling right now, but how much money do you want to waste on a good punter? The Steelers paid top-of-the-market price for Cameron Johnston, but his efforts will go to waste if they don’t improve coverage. The guys they have right now didn’t look the part in the preseason, and we know Boykin can do it.
CB James Pierre
Here’s a similar story with James Pierre, who like Boykin was a primary Steelers gunner for years. Fans eventually wanted to run him out of town, but he can give you some snaps on defense, too. And at least he has experience, unlike Cory Trice Jr. and Darius Rush.
C J.C. Hassenauer
The Steelers have no experienced reserve centers after Nate Herbig’s injury. Right now, it seems like they’re going with Ryan McCollum, but Hassenauer would be an upgrade.
WR Allen Robinson II
The Steelers weren’t willing to pay him millions when they released him back in March, but on this depth chart, Robinson might not look so bad. Kicking the tires wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world—he may even sign to the practice squad.
S Terrell Edmunds
Terrell Edmunds moved on last year, but now his teams are moving on from him. After rookie S Ryan Watts’ season-ending injury, it would make a lot of sense to seek an experienced depth piece. I would even consider swapping him in for Damontae Kazee, which would save the Steelers cap space.
CB Desmond King II
The Steelers didn’t even keep Thomas Graham Jr. on the roster so they need slot depth. For reasons undetailed, they pretty quickly moved on from King last year, but he found his footing again in Houston. Well, they let him loose again, but beggars can’t be choosers.
For these purposes, I’m not looking at players who never signed anywhere like Patrick Peterson and Chandon Sullivan. Nor am I looking at outside free agents who never played for the Steelers. My only focus here is considering some potential reunions, and I think these are the most plausible.
Will the Steelers call any of these guys up and see if they’re interested? I frankly have no idea. But they are not against re-signing players when the opportunity presents itself, as with Sean Davis and many others. None of these are big, splashy moves, but we’re talking about depth at the end of the roster here. So even if some of these names trigger rage within your soul, quell that heat with the knowledge that even if the Steelers were to sign any of them, they wouldn’t necessarily stick around long. And they would certainly all count no more than the minimum.
