Steelers sign eight to practice squad

Teresa Varley

Updated: The Steelers signed wide receiver Quez Watkins later on Friday.

The Steelers signed eight players to their practice squad on Friday, including players who were previously with other teams.

Those signed include:

Offensive Lineman: John Leglue, Doug Nester

Linebackers: Devin Harper, Adetokunbo Ogundeji

Running back: Boston Scott

Wide receivers: Brandon Johnson, Ben Skowronek, Quez Watkins

More on the new practice squad signings:

Linebacker Devin Harper: Harper was originally drafted by the Dallas Cowboys in the sixth round of the 2022 NFL Draft. He played in three games for the Cowboys in 2022 before being placed on the injured/reserve list. In 2023, he appeared in three games for the Cowboys before being claimed off waivers by the Cincinnati Bengals. He appeared in six games for the Bengals last season.

Wide receiver Brandon Johnson: Johnson originally signed with the Broncos as an undrafted free agent following the 2022 NFL Draft. He spent time on the practice squad and active roster the past two seasons. Johnson has played in 20 games, starting three, and has 25 receptions for 326 yards and five touchdowns. He played in 13 games in 2023, hauling in 19 receptions for 284 yards and four touchdowns.

Offensive Lineman John Leglue: Leglue returns to the Steelers after spending the 2023 season with the Atlanta Falcons. Leglue was signed to the Steelers practice squad in 2020, spending two seasons with the team, playing in six games in 2021. He entered the NFL as an undrafted rookie free agent, signing with the Denver Broncos following the 2019 NFL Draft. He was released by to the Broncos after the 2019 training camp and was signed to the New Orleans Saints practice squad. The Green Bay Packers signed Leglue off the Saints practice squad in 2019. He also spent time with the Tennessee Titans.

Offensive lineman Doug Nester: Nester originally signed with the Minnesota Vikings as an undrafted free agent following the 2024 NFL Draft. Nester played college football at West Virginia, where he played in 57 games, starting 52 of them. In 2023 he played in 12 games, starting 11, with 660 offensive snaps and did not allow a sack.

Linebacker Adetokunbo Ogundeji: Ogundeji was originally drafted by the Atlanta Falcons in the fifth round of the 2021 NFL Draft. His rookie season he appeared in 16 games, starting 11 of them. He finished that season with 33 tackles, a sack, a pass defensed and a fumble recovery. In 2022 he started 16 games, finishing with 42 tackles and one sack. He missed the 2023 season with a foot injury. He played college football at Notre Dame, where he appeared in 43 games, recording 80 tackles, 17 tackles for a loss, 13 sacks and six forced fumbles.

Running back Boston Scott: Scott was most recently with the Los Angeles Rams, signing during the 2023 offseason. Scott was originally drafted by the New Orleans Saints in the sixth round of the 2018 NFL Draft. He spent time on the Saints’ practice squad, before the Philadelphia Eagles signed him to their active roster. Scott was with the Eagles from 2018-23, playing in 75 games while starting 12. He had 302 carries for 1,295 yards and 16 touchdowns, as well as 71 receptions for 566 yards and a touchdown . He played college football at Louisiana Tech.

Wide receiver Ben Skowronek: Skowronek was originally drafted by the Los Angeles Rams in the seventh round of the 2021 NFL Draft, the 249th overall pick. He appeared in 45 games for the Rams, starting 12, while hauling in 58 receptions for 575 yards. He was traded to the Houston Texans this offseason.

Wide receiver Quez Watkins: Watkins signed with the Steelers as a free agent this offseason. Watkins spent the past four seasons with the Philadelphia Eagles after they selected him in the sixth round of the 2020 NFL Draft, the 200th overall pick. In four seasons he played in 49 games, starting 25. He has 98 receptions for 1,249 yards, a 12.7-yard average and six touchdowns. He played in nine games last season, starting eight of them, while missing five games on the injured/reserve list. He finished the year with 15 receptions for 142 yards, a 9.5-yard average and a touchdown. He played college football at Southern Mississippi, where he had 159 receptions for 2,404 yards and 17 touchdowns while playing in 35 games. Was a two-time All-Conference USA selection (2018-19). His senior season had the most receiving yards (1,178) and the second-highest receiving average (18.5 yards) in the conference.

On Thursday, the Steelers signed eight players to their practice squad, all of whom have been with the team in training camp and the preseason.

Those signed included:

Defensive backs: Anthony Averett, Zyon Gilbert, Thomas Graham Jr.

Defensive lineman: Jacob Slade

Defender: Jack Colletto

Linebacker: Marcus Haynes

Running back: Jonathan Ward

Tight End: Rodney Williams

Learn more about the practice squad signings (listed alphabetically):

Defensive back Anthony Averett: Averett, a six-year veteran, attended the Steelers’ rookie minicamp in the spring and was subsequently signed. Averett has appeared in 51 career games with 27 starts. He has 114 total tackles, 99 of them solo stops, three career interceptions and 23 passes defensed. Averett was originally drafted by the Baltimore Ravens in the fourth round of the 2018 NFL Draft, spending his first four seasons there. Appeared in 44 games for the Ravens, starting 21. Recorded 101 tackles, 22 passes defensed and three interceptions while in Baltimore. Averett signed with the Los Vegas Raiders in 2022, playing in seven games with six starts. He also spent time with the San Francisco 49ers (2023) and Detroit Lions (2023).

Quarterback Jack Colletto: Colletto spent part of the 2023 season on the Steelers practice squad. Colletto was originally signed by the San Francisco 49ers as an undrafted free agent following the 2023 NFL Draft. Colletto played at Oregon State where he played in 43 games, finishing with 110 carries for 401 yards and 22 touchdowns and four receptions for 37 yards and a touchdown. The versatile Colletto also played quarterback, completing 25-of-50 passes for 254, returning punts and playing early career linebacker. Colletto was a Hornung Award winner his senior season, a first-team All-Pac-12 selection (all-purpose) and a second-team All-Pac-12 Associated Press selection (all-purpose).

Defensive end Zyon Gilbert: Gilbert was signed by the Steelers during training camp. Gilbert originally signed with the New York Giants as an undrafted free agent following the 2022 NFL Draft. He spent time on the Giants’ practice squad and active roster as a game-day boost, recording 10 tackles and a sack in 2022. Gilbert was signed to the Green Bay Packers practice squad in 2023. Gilbert played college football at Florida Atlantic, where he appeared in 60 games. He finished with 248 tackles, 158 of them solo stops, 31 passes defensed, five and a half tackles for a loss, two forced fumbles and an interception.

Defensive back Thomas Graham Jr.: Graham was signed to a reserve/future contract at the end of the 2023 season. He was originally drafted by the Chicago Bears in the sixth round of the 2021 NFL draft. He played in four games for the Bears, recording 13 tackles and four passes defensed. He also spent time on the Bears’ practice squad. He was signed by the Cleveland Browns off the Bears’ practice squad at the start of the 2022 season. He played at the University of Oregon, where he finished his career with 182 tackles, 10.5 tackles for a loss, eight interceptions, 40 pass breakups defended, a forced bloat and a bloat recovery.

Linebacker Marcus Haynes: Haynes was signed by the Steelers after training camp. Haynes originally signed with the Denver Broncos as an undrafted free agent following the 2023 NFL Draft. He spent part of the season on the Broncos practice squad. He also spent time with the Cleveland Browns in training camp. Haynes played college football at Old Dominion where he played in 49 games, starting 21. He recorded 102 tackles, 55 of them solo stops, 22 tackles for a loss, 15 sacks, five passes defensed and four forced fumbles .

Defensive lineman Jacob Slade: Slade was signed to a reserve/future contract at the end of the 2023 season. Slade spent time on the Arizona Cardinals’ practice squad after initially being signed as an undrafted free agent following the 2023 NFL Draft. played college ball at Michigan State, where he recorded 88 tackles, including 11.5 for a loss, four sacks, four passes defended and a fumble recovery.

Running back Jonathan Ward: Ward attended the Steelers’ rookie minicamp on a tryout basis and was signed as a result. In four seasons, he played in 43 games, carrying the ball 17 times for 69 yards, an average of 4.1 yards. He also has six receptions for 52 yards, an 8.7-yard average and a touchdown. Ward originally signed with the Arizona Cardinals as an undrafted free agent following the 2020 NFL Draft. He spent two seasons with the Cardinals before joining the Tennessee Titans in the 2022 season. He also spent the 2023 season with the Titans. Ward played college football at Central Michigan, where he played in 42 games, carrying the ball 473 times for 2,539 yards and 28 touchdowns. He also had 98 receptions for 909 yards and four touchdowns.

Tight end Rodney Williams: Williams spent most of the last two seasons on the Steelers practice squad. He was originally signed by the Denver Broncos as an undrafted free agent following the 2022 NFL Draft, but was released during the preseason. Williams played college ball at Tennessee-Martin, where he played in 53 games, starting 26. He finished with 99 receptions for 1,217 yards and seven touchdowns, finishing ninth in school history in receiving yards .