The Pittsburgh Steelers were forced to make some roster moves heading into their Week 17 game vs. the Baltimore Ravens. With Mason Rudolph’s injured shoulder, and Maurkice Pouncey dealing with some sort of knee injury, the team had to make moves on their 53-man roster.
Rudolph was sent to Injured Reserve, and the team promoted center J.C. Hassenauer from the practice squad to provide depth at center behind B.J. Finney. With those moves, it opens up spots on the practice squad to be taken.
The team filled those spots by signing quarterback J.T. Barrett and safety Tray Matthews on Tuesday.
We have signed QB J.T. Barrett and S Tray Matthews to our practice squad.
— Pittsburgh Steelers (@steelers) December 24, 2019
Barrett, the former Ohio State product, is the headliner of these moves. Barrett was signed as an undrafted rookie free agent by the New Orleans Saints in 2018. He spent the offseason and preseason with the team before being released. He was then signed by the Seattle Seahawks in August of 2019, but was released by the end of the month.
After Drew Brees’s thumb injury, the Saints re-signed Barrett to their practice squad, but when Brees returned to the lineup Barrett became a free agent once again. Barrett is a tremendous athlete, and will be viewed as nothing more than depth within the Steelers’ ranks until the end of the season.
With Rudolph heading to injured reserve, the team will lean on Devlin Hodges as their primary starter, with Paxton Lynch getting a helmet on game day for the first time since being signed by the Steelers.
Stay tuned to BTSC for the latest news and notes as the team prepares for a must-win game vs. the Baltimore Ravens at M&T Bank Stadium this Sunday at 4:25 p.m. ET.