There’s a new fullback in town, and it’s not Derek Watt. Pete Byrne of WSBT Sports in South Bend, Indiana, reported on Friday that the Pittsburgh Steelers have signed fullback Zander Horvath fresh off his release from the Los Angeles Chargers.
Two days after getting released by the Chargers, @marian_football & Purdue alum @zhorvath_ signs with the #Steelers. pic.twitter.com/HlkR5wtTki
— Pete Byrne WSBT (@PeteByrneSports) September 1, 2023
Selected in the seventh round of the 2022 NFL draft, the 24-year-old Purdue product appeared in 15 games with two starts. His only two touchdowns of the season came in weeks 1 and 2 through the air in short-yardage, red zone situations.
Chargers rookie fullback Zander Horvath has a TD in back-to-back games! @zhorvath_ #TNFonPrime#LACvsKC on Prime Video
Also available on NFL+ https://t.co/Fa02SqPmRn pic.twitter.com/GUD6i1Dl7M— NFL (@NFL) September 16, 2022
Horvath was waived to make room for former Steelers linebacker Tanner Muse. It’s likely they’ll miss having Muse around more than Horvath will benefit.
If this run from his time at Purdue is any indication, though, he does seem to have that dog in him.
The #Steelers newest addition to their practice squad, FB Zander Horvath, has some juice.pic.twitter.com/2YWqjIN1pd
— Tyler Wise (@TriggeredWise) September 2, 2023
Connor Heyward remains the only fullback on the Steelers’ 53-man roster, so it’s safe to say once they officially announce the acquisition, it’ll be via the practice squad.
It’ll be interesting to see what Pittsburgh does with Horvath, if anything at all. Fullbacks generally aren’t used in the NFL anymore, and Steelers’ latest experiment with one (ahem, Watt) was a waste of salary cap dollars. But, hey, he was a “special teams ace.”
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