Tag: Steelers 2020 practice squad

Steelers practice squad 2020: Pittsburgh protects 4 players for Week 15

A new concept for the 2020 season is the “protected” practice squad. Here are the four players the Steelers chose to protect.

For Week 15 practice squad protections, Pittsburgh tabbed wide receiver Deon Cain, offensive tackle Anthony Coyle, linebacker Tegray Scales and running back Wendell Smallwood. These four are not eligible to sign with another team until after Monday’s game.

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Practice squad “protection” is a new concept for the 2020 season. It’s a concession for the potential personnel shortages that could occur if the virus strikes the locker room.

Teams can designate protected players each Tuesday beginning at 4 p.m., except for clubs that played on the previous Monday night; their designations go into effect before 4 p.m. Wednesday.

Pittsburgh travels to Cincinnati to take on the Bengals on Monday Night Football.

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Steelers practice squad 2020: Pittsburgh protects 4 PS players for Week 14

A new concept for the 2020 season is the “protected” practice squad. Here are the four players the Steelers chose to protect.

For Week 14 practice squad protections, Pittsburgh tabbed wide receiver Deon Cain, offensive tackle Anthony Coyle, running back Wendell Smallwood and kicker Matthew Wright. These four are not eligible to sign with another team until after Sunday’s game.

Wright started in place of Chris Boswell versus the Washington Football Team on Monday, as Boswell injured his hip last Saturday in practice. Though Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin is hopeful he’ll be available for Sunday’s Buffalo Bills game, it’s too soon to tell.

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Practice squad “protection” is a new concept for the 2020 season. It’s a concession for the potential personnel shortages that could occur if the virus strikes the locker room.

Teams can designate protected players each Tuesday beginning at 4 p.m., except for clubs that played on the previous Monday night; their designations go into effect prior to 4 p.m. Wednesday.

Pittsburgh travels to Buffalo to take on the Bills Sunday night.

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Steelers practice squad 2020: Pittsburgh protects 4 PS players for Week 12

A new concept for the 2020 season is the “protected” practice squad. Here are the four players the Steelers chose to protect.

For Week 12 practice squad protections, Pittsburgh again tabbed rookie safety Antoine Brooks, wide receiver Deon Cain, running back Wendell Smallwood and punter Corliss Waitman. These four are not eligible to sign with another team until after Thursday’s game.

Everyone’s favorite linebacker/long snapper, Christian Kuntz, is back with the Steelers. Pittsburgh signed him to the practice squad on Tuesday.

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Practice squad “protection” is a new concept for the 2020 season. It’s a concession for the potential personnel shortages that could occur if the virus strikes the locker room.

Teams can designate protected players each Tuesday beginning at 4 p.m., except for clubs that played on the previous Monday night; their designations go into effect prior to 4 p.m. Wednesday.

On Thanksgiving, the Steelers host the Baltimore Ravens on Thursday Night Football.

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Pittsburgh area native Christian Kuntz signed to Steelers practice squad, among slew of moves made on Tuesday

The Pittsburgh Steelers were busy making moves on Tuesday.

Among the slew of roster transactions the Steelers made on Tuesday was the signing of two names that might already be familiar to Black and Gold fans.

Linebacker/long snapper Christian Kuntz was signed to the practice squad, and Pine-Richland High School graduate, tight end Kevin Rader was signed to the 53-man roster.

Kuntz, a Pittsburgh native, worked out for the team last week and is now in his second stint. He was part of the Steelers during training camp in 2019 and 2020 but was released after roster cut-downs. Kuntz was a practice squad member with the New England Patriots, Denver Broncos and Jacksonville Jaguars. The Chartiers Valley High School graduate played collegiately at Duquesne University, where he logged 248 tackles (71.5 for loss) and a school-record 30.5 sacks. Kuntz was also the recipient of two Northeast Conference Defensive Player of the Year awards and, according to Teresa Varley of Steelers.com, is the only player three-time All-American honoree in school history.

Rader was part of the Steelers practice squad for most of 2019 and, again, since the start of the 2020 season. The former Green Bay Packer played for Youngstown State University, where he had 44 receptions for 601 yards and four touchdowns.

Pittsburgh also activated tight end Vance McDonald off the reserve/COVID-19 list, where he’s been since Nov. 9. Zach Gentry, who was promoted to the active roster in McDonald’s place versus the Jacksonville Jaguars, suffered a season-ending knee injury in the game. The Steelers placed him on injured reserve on Tuesday.

The tight end moves shore up the position as the Steelers were down to just Eric Ebron for most of the Jaguars game.

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Steelers practice squad 2020: Pittsburgh protects 4 practice squad players for Week 6

A new concept for the 2020 season is the “protected” practice squad. Here are the four players the Steelers chose to protect.

The Steelers must like what they have going as far as practice squad protections. There are no changes from Week 5 to 6 for protected players. Pittsburgh has tabbed wide receiver Deon Cain, linebacker Jayrone Elliott, defensive end Henry Mondeaux and running back Wendell Smallwood. These four are not eligible to sign with another team until after Sunday’s game.

Practice squad “protection” is a new concept for the 2020 season. It’s a concession for the potential personnel shortages that could occur if the virus strikes the locker room.

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Teams can designate protected players each Tuesday beginning at 4 p.m., except for clubs that played on the previous Monday night; their designations go into effect prior to 4 p.m. Wednesday.

The Steelers continue their 2020 season Sunday, Oct. 18 versus the Cleveland Browns at Heinz Field.

Steelers practice squad 2020: Pittsburgh protects 4 practice squad players for Week 5

A new concept for the 2020 season is the “protected” practice squad. Here are the four players the Steelers chose to protect.

For Week 5 practice squad protections, the Steelers have chosen wide receiver Deon Cain, linebacker Jayrone Elliott, defensive end Henry Mondeaux and running back Wendell Smallwood. These four are not eligible to sign with another team until after Sunday’s game.

Practice squad “protection” is a new concept for the 2020 season. It’s a concession for the potential personnel shortages that could occur if the virus strikes the locker room.

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Teams can designate protected players each Tuesday beginning at 4 p.m., except for clubs that played on the previous Monday night; their designations go into effect prior to 4 p.m. Wednesday.

The Steelers continue their 2020 season Sunday, Oct. 11 versus the Philadelphia Eagles at Heinz Field.

Devlin ‘Duck’ Hodges signed to Steelers practice squad

The Steelers rounded out their initial practice squad with the addition of quarterback Duck Hodges.

On Sunday, the Steelers waived quarterback Devlin “Duck” Hodges upon claiming quarterback Josh Dobbs off waivers.

Hodges cleared waivers on Monday, and the Steelers swooped down and snapped him up for their practice squad.

Duck was deemed a hero when he came off the bench in favor of Mason Rudolph; however, the luster didn’t last long. In six starts last season, Hodges went 3-3 for 1,063 yards, five touchdowns and eight interceptions.

The Steelers initital practice squad roster is now set at 16 players. Before rounding it out with Hodges, Pittsburgh signed running back Wendell Smallwood to the practice roster.

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Reportedly, ‘Duck’ season is not over, at least not for the practice squad

The Pittsburgh Steelers have two of 16 practice squad spots up for grabs.

The Steelers signed 14 players to their practice squad on Sunday, leaving two spots open. The number of players allowed on the practice squad increased from 10 to 12 with the new collective bargaining agreement, and from 12 to 16 because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported that the Steelers are expected to bring back reserve quarterback Devlin “Duck” Hodges and running back Wendell Smallwood.

Hodges had appeared to secure the No. 3 quarterback slot when he initially made Saturday’s 53-man roster. However, when former Steelers quarterback was cut from the Jaguars Saturday and cleared waivers on Sunday, Pittsburgh responded by waiving Hodges and claiming Dobbs.

Dobbs was traded to the Jaguars a week before the 2019 season in favor of Hodges. The Steelers received a fifth-round 2020 draft pick in exchange for the quarterback.

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