Steelers elevate 2 players from the practice squad for Sunday’s game vs. the Bengals

For the first time in the 2021 season, the Pittsburgh Steelers have elevated two players from the practice squad ahead of their Week 3 matchup with the Cincinnati Bengals at Heinz Field on Sunday. Needing some help at the outside linebacker and wide receiver position, the Steelers have elevated Derrek Tuszka and Cody White.

In the newest Collective Bargaining Agreement signed by the NFL and the Players Association in March 2020, a new rule allowed teams to promote two players from the practice squad each week and not have to release a player to bring them onto the 53-man roster. Following the game, players refer back to the teams practice squad automatically.

Although many fans believed the Steelers would be elevating outside linebacker Taco Charlton who was signed to the practice squad on Tuesday, the Steelers elevated outside linebacker Derrek Tuszka instead. Drafted in the seventh round of the 2020 NFL draft by the Denver Broncos out of North Dakota State, Tuszka played in nine games last season where he had six tackles. Failing to make the Broncos 53-man roster, Tuszka signed with the Steelers practice squad after clearing waivers.

The Steelers were entering Sunday’s game with only three available players at the outside linebacker position, including T.J. Watt who was questionable with a groin injury. Since Watt has been downgraded to out and is unable to play on Sunday, look for Melvin Ingram III and Jamir Jones to get the majority of the playing time at the two outside linebacker positions. With so few options for this week, it was a logical choice to add more depth at the position against the Bengals.

The other player elevated from the Steelers practice squad for their Week 3 matchup is wide receiver Cody White. With Diontae Johnson already ruled out for the game, and the Steelers typically carrying five wide receivers, White was the choice among three wide receivers on the Steelers practice squad.

White went undrafted out of Michigan State in 2020 and bounced around that offseason between the Chiefs, Giants, and Broncos. Added to the Steelers practice squad in September 2020, White spent the entire year with the Steelers from that point and was signed to a futures contract in the offseason.

Stay tuned to Behind The Steel Curtain for continued coverage as the Pittsburgh Steelers are set to take on the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday at 1 PM at Heinz Field.