Steelers fill half of practice squad with 8 players let go on cutdown day

8/30/2023
Half of the players the Pittsburgh Steelers released as part of their final cutdown Tuesday were brought back as half of their practice squad Wednesday.
Eight of the 16 Steelers’ deadline day cuts were re-signed to the practice squad: cornerback Luq Barcoo, running back Greg Bell, defensive lineman Breiden Fehoko, receiver Dez Fitzpatrick, defensive lineman Jonathan Marshall, linebacker David Perales, safety Trenton Thompson and tight end Rodney Williams.
Along with the addition of veteran cornerback Anthony Brown, that means nine of the 16 available practice squad spots have been filled. The eight cuts Tuesday needed to clear waivers before being brought back.
Of the group, Fehoko was considered the biggest surprise of the cuts for the 53-man active roster. He appeared in 19 games (four starts) the past three seasons for the Los Angeles Chargers but was caught up in a numbers game on the Steelers defensive line. He specializes in playing nose tackle.
Fehoko is a candidate for “call-ups” throughout the season. A practice-squad player is eligible for three such promotions per season before they must be added to the active roster, and teams can only call up a maximum of two practice squad players per game.
Another important note about practice squads governs veteran eligibility. Only six of the 16 available spots can be used on veterans of three or more accrued NFL seasons. So far, Fehoko and Brown are the only players who qualify that way for the Steelers.
Barcoo (three games), Fitzpatrick (five games), Marshall (four games) and Thompson (one game) have scant NFL experience. Marshall and Williams finished last season on the Steelers’ practice squad. Barcoo played in the XFL this spring.
Perales is the only rookie free agent the Steelers signed after the draft ended who made the active roster or practice squad. Perales had 22 1/2 sacks over 33 FBS games, including 11 1/2 for Fresno State last season — tied for the third-most in the country.
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