The Pittsburgh Steelers made a minor move on Wednesday morning ahead of the season opener on Sunday. Rookie wide receiver, Jaquarii Roberson was signed to the practice squad and in a corresponding move, Hamilcar Rashed Jr. was placed on the Injured List.
Credit: Pittsburgh Steelers
We have signed WR Jaquarii Roberson to the practice squad and placed LB Hamilcar Rashed on the Practice Squad/Injured List. @BordasLaw https://t.co/sibufPix4z
— Pittsburgh Steelers (@steelers) September 7, 2022
Roberson went undrafted in the 2022 NFL Draft and was picked up by the Dallas Cowboys. The Cowboys then released him when rosters got cut down to 80 players. The wide out played his college football at Wake Forest, spending four years there. After just 13 catches in his first two seasons, Roberson broke out in a big way in 2020 with 926 receiving yards and eight touchdowns.
He was an integral part to the program's turnaround in 2021 as well, as he improved on his junior year stats. Roberson finished with career highs in catches (71), receiving yards (1,078), yards per catch (15.2), touchdowns (8), and games played (13). The rookie stands at 6'1", 181 lbs. and ran a 4.46 40-yard dash at Wake Forest's Pro Day.
Roberson joins Cody White as the other WR on the Steelers' full 16-man practice squad. That gives a clear sign that Tyler Vaughns will not be back on the team. After a few injuries at wide out, Vaughns had an outside chance at making the opening day roster. While he had plenty of bright moments throughout training camp and the preseason, he was eventually let go in the final roster cuts. He has yet to be picked up by another team, and it's a bit surprising that the Steelers didn't bring him back to the practice squad.
Credit: Jordan Schofield/SteelerNation (JSKO_PHOTO Twitter)
As for Rashed, he was claimed off waivers from the New York Jets just a few weeks ago. After not making the team's initial 53-man roster, he was added back to the practice squad.
Are you a bit surprised that Vaughns wasn't brought back? Does Roberson have a chance to stick around for awhile? Share your opinions and thoughts in the comment section below!
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