The Steelers have announced on Wednesday morning that they have signed one of their 2019 sixth-round draft picks, linebacker Sutton Smith, to the practice squad.
We have added LB Sutton Smith to the practice squad. pic.twitter.com/9hHomfPr6Z
— Pittsburgh Steelers (@steelers) November 6, 2019
Plagued with injuries throughout the training camp, Smith struggled to get on the field in the preseason in order to earn his spot on to the 53-man roster. To the surprise of many Steelers fans, Smith was not even added to the practice squad when it was announced in early September.
In his three seasons at Northern Illinois following a red shirt freshman year, Smith amassed 139 tackles and 30 sacks with four passes defensed and six fumble recovery’s, three of which were for touchdowns.In his two preseason games with the Steelers, Smith had two tackles, 0.5 sacks, and a pass defensed.
One of the attractive features of Smith in his time when healthy during training camp was his ability to play multiple positions on both sides of the ball. On offense, Smith was the only other player at fullback for the Steelers in Latrobe. With Roosevelt Nix still dealing with a knee injury, Smith’s signing to the practice squad could be insurance at the fallback position in case the Steelers would need someone else to fill that role.
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