The Pittsburgh Steelers announce their 2021 practice squad

NFL cut down day has become something highly anticipated by fans across the league. Seeing if their “diamond in the rough” makes the roster or if their team parted ways with a particular player many feel should have been cut loose years ago, dissecting the initial 53-man roster feels like a true start to the regular season. But for those players who were left go on Tuesday, Sunday brings a new day and perhaps a new opportunity to continue their NFL dream.

Welcome to the NFL practice squad.

After players with 4 or less accrued seasons clear waivers, each team can sign players to their official practice squad. Last season, the practice squad was expanded to 16 players and 6 of those players can be of unlimited accrued seasons (and therefore are players who were not subject to waivers). The players on the practice squad can be promoted by the Steelers or signed by other NFL teams, but once again for 2021 each team can protect up to 4 players from Tuesday on each week who can’t be claimed by another team until after their game. And don’t forget, each week a team can promote up to 2 players from the practice squad to the active roster without having to remove another player.

For the Pittsburgh Steelers, they announced 15 players of their 2021 16-man practice squad Wednesday, and the list of players is below:

RB Jaylen Samuels
RB Trey Edmunds
TE Kevin Rader
OL Malcolm Pridgeon
OL John Leglue
OL Chaz Green
WR Cody White
WR Rico Bussey
WR Steven Sims
DE Daniel Archibong
LB Derrek Tuszka
LB Christian Miller
CB Mark Gilbert
S Donovan Stiner
S Karl Joseph

Most of the players from the practice squad came from the Steelers 2021 training camp roster. The breakdown comes as 9 players on offense and 6 on defense.The most notable player added from outside the Steelers organization is safety Karl Joseph who spent four year with the Raiders and one with the Browns. In his five NFL seasons, Joseph has appeared and 63 games and started 49. He has five career interceptions and over 300 tackles to go along with 3.0 sacks.

The practice squad can change, just like the team’s 53-man roster can certainly change between now and the Week 1 game vs. the Buffalo Bills. For this reason, stay tuned to Behind The Steel Curtain for any updates on any roster moves and all Steelers news as they prepare for the kickoff of the 2021 season.

To hear more on the Steelers’ 2021 practice squad, check out the podcast below: