The Pittsburgh Steelers worked out a variety of running backs recently including former Chicago Bears, and Philadelphia Eagles running back Jordan Howard over the past two weeks. They ultimately decided to sign Jeremy McNichols two weeks ago, but McNichols injured his shoulder earlier this week and was placed on injured reserve yesterday. In response to that move, Pittsburgh signed former Ohio State standout Master Teague.
Jordan Schofield Steeler Nation / (Twitter JSKO_PHOTO)
Now the team is set to work out another veteran running back. This time it's former Las Vegas Raiders' back-up Jalen Richard. Richard came into the league in 2016 as an undrafted free agent out of Southern Mississippi. This report comes from Richard's uncle who goes by the name 'Pho Real' on social media, who posted screenshots of a conversation between family members this afternoon. The photos were posted to a Steelers group named 'Yes! We are Steelers Nation'.
Photo from Richard's uncle 'Pho Real'
During his time with Las Vegas he piled up 1333 yards rushing, and 1590 yards receiving. Richard played in 10 games for the Raiders last season, but was pushed so far down the depth chart, he didn’t see much time on the field. He’s spent his entire career backing up Josh Jacobs, but when given the opportunity, he was able to be productive catching the football out of the backfield.
Good morning #RaiderNation 40 days until season Kickoff…blessing your TL with Jalen Richard welcome to the #nfl 75 yard TD explosive run…LFG @Raiders #elbukiraider pic.twitter.com/e6R8RpMna5
— Master Marco Polo 🇲🇽“El Buki Raider” (@srchilaquilles) August 2, 2022
Richard recently worked out with the Detroit Lions on August 1st according to NFL insider Aaron Wilson.
Recently Bleacher Report suggested that the Steelers should make an effort to sign Richard.
“It would make a whole lot of sense for Pittsburgh to add more depth behind Harris in 2022,” says Knox. “A quality receiving back like Jalen Richard would make a lot of sense for the Steelers, and there are other intriguing ball-carriers left in the free-agent pool. A physical inside runner like Carlos Hyde or Latavius Murray would also make sense if the Steelers are looking to not run Harris into the ground.”
Whether the Steelers are just looking to have another back up plan in place, or they're actually looking to sign Richard remains to be seen. But it's becoming more and more apparent they're not exactly thrilled with their current set up.
