Pittsburgh has signed linebacker Jacoby Windmon, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports.
Windmon, 24, initially joined the Steelers as an undrafted free agent out of Michigan State in 2024. He spent time on the practice squad during the regular season before he was signed to Carolina’s 53-man roster midway through the season. He returned to Pittsburgh’s practice squad in October of last season before again heading to the Panthers in November.
Windmon most recently was with the UFL’s Columbus Aviators after being waived by Carolina last month.
He’s appeared in nine regular season games, recording 22 total tackles with 1.5 sacks and a pair of passes defensed.
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The Vikings reportedly shied away from Aaron Rodgers in 2025 due in part to the impact of his freelancing style on the ability of J.J. McCarthy to learn from him.
The Steelers are embracing the things Rodgers can teach rookie Drew Allar. As Allar tells it, Rodgers is.
“With me, specifically, he’s pulled me aside during practice to talk through some drill work or things to focus on through different drills,” Allar said last week, via Jarrett Bailey of SB Nation. “In the film room, [he’s] just asking me questions of what I was seeing, what I was looking at and why. [He’s] giving me a lot of good knowledge. I’m really excited to keep learning from him. Obviously he’s one of the best to ever do it in this game. So the opportunity I have is one I’m not going to take for granted.”
Yes, Allar needs to learn how to run the Pittsburgh offense. More broadly, Allar needs to learn how to play the position. Rodgers has more than two decades of experience.
When Rodgers was drafted by the Packers, Allar was only 13 months old.
With Rodgers the clear starter for 2026, it makes sense for Allar to soak up everything he can. Rodgers admittedly is in his last year; there’s no reason to keep any of his cards close to the vest.
The Steelers announced a handful of roster moves on Monday afternoon.
They have signed wide receiver Levi Wentz. Punter Aidan Laros and linebacker Daylan Carnell were waived in the team’s other moves.
Wentz signed with the Seahawks after going undrafted out of Kansas in April. He had 16 catches for 258 yards and two touchdowns in his lone season with the Jayhawks. He also played for Old Dominion and Albany at the collegiate level.
Laros was claimed off of waivers from Tampa earlier this month. His departure leaves Cameron Johnston as the only punter on the 90-man roster in Pittsburgh.
Carnell was signed as an undrafted free agent this year. He played at Missouri.
The Steelers added a couple of players to their roster as they approach the final days of their offseason program.
They announced the signings of wide receiver Joaquin Davis and defensive back Daryl Porter on Thursday. Long snapper Cal Adomitis and offensive lineman Aiden Williams were cut in corresponding moves.
Davis spent time on the Vikings’ practice squad after going undrafted last year. Porter played three special teams snaps and one defensive snap in one regular season appearance for the Steelers last season. Porter has also spent time with the Bills since going undrafted in 2025.
With Adomitis off the roster, Christian Kuntz is now the only long snapper in Pittsburgh.
The Steelers added a punter to their roster on Tuesday.
They announced that they have claimed Aidan Laros off of waivers. Laros was dropped by the Buccaneers on Monday.
Laros, who is from South Africa, punted at Kentucky during his final two college seasons and went undrafted in April. He also played at Charlotte and Tennessee-Martin and had an average of 45.8 yards per punt over his entire collegiate run.
The Steelers released wide receiver Brandon Johnson in a corresponding move. Johnson had one catch for nine yards during a 2024 stint with the Steelers and he had 25 catches for 326 yards and five touchdowns in 20 games with the Broncos in his first two NFL seasons.
Steelers head coach Mike McCarthy will be coaching Aaron Rodgers again this season and another one of his Packers stars came up during last week’s OTAs.
Charles Woodson won defensive player of the year and helped the Packers to a Super Bowl while playing a versatile role in the back end of their defense. That came after a long and successful run at cornerback with the Raiders and changing positions gave his career a stellar second act.
Steelers secondary coach Joe Whitt was on the Packers’ staff in those days and he believes Steelers defensive back Jalen Ramsey “has a similar skill set, similar size, similar speed” to the Hall of Famer. Whitt said he expects the Steelers to use Ramsey in a similar fashion as a result and McCarthy concurred with that view of how Ramsey fits into their plans.
“When Charles came to Green Bay — when we moved him inside and he played the nickel — I thought his game went to a whole different level,” McCarthy said, via Chris Harlan of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. “I thought Jalen has the same ability. He’s a special piece to our defense. He can play nickel, he can play corner, he can play dime and can also play safety. I’m really looking forward to working with him, but yeah, I can see exactly why Joe says that. That’s an excellent comparison.”
Ramsey is still getting used to the new defense things and said that things “have to evolve,” but that he has taken pride in “being able to do different things” on the field and the prospect of a back half of a career similar to Woodson’s should be an appealing one.
The Steelers doubled up on veteran additions to their roster on Thursday.
In addition to signing tight end Robert Tonyan, they announced that they have signed linebacker Jamin Davis to their 90-man roster. Both players took part in this week’s minicamp on a tryout basis.
Davis had three tackles in two games for the Raiders last season. Their defensive coordinator Patrick Graham now has the same job on Mike McCarthy’s staff in Pittsburgh.
Davis appeared in 54 games for Washington and Minnesota before moving to the Raiders. He had 287 tackles, eight sacks, an interception, two forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries in that action.
The Steelers also announced that they have waived tight end Chamon Metayer.
The Steelers’ decision to move quickly to give linebacker Nick Herbig a four-year, $100 million extension makes the organization’s feeling about the 2023 fourth-round pick clear. As to two other pass rushers on the Pittsburgh roster, it raises questions.
It’s the first time that a team has given a backup a $100 million contract. Which means that Herbig possibly won’t be a backup on Mike McCarthy’s initial official depth chart.
Linebacker T.J. Watt, a first-round pick in 2017, signed a three-year, $123 million extension in 2025. He’s making $41 million per year.
In 2023, linebacker Alex Highsmith (a third-round pick in 2020) signed a four-year, $68 million extension. His new-money APY is $17 million.
The Steelers could keep all three of them, at least for a year. Or they could sit back and wait to see if another team makes them an offer, for either Watt or Highsmith.
Trading Watt would avoid $32 million in guaranteed pay for 2026, while triggering a $10 million cap charge in 2026 and a $20 million cap charge in 2027. Trading Highsmith would avoid his $14.5 million salary for 2026, with a cap charge of $5.6 million in 2026 and a $5.6 million cap charge in 2027.
Chances are the phone has already been ringing. That’s how it goes. Teams always explore whether other players are available, and what it could take to get them.
Given the value of pass rushers — and given that plenty of teams are looking for more of them (the Bears could use one, badly) — the Herbig deal becomes a de facto invitation for other teams to make an offer, for either Watt or Highsmith.
The Steelers are bringing in a veteran tight end who will be a familiar face to some in the building.
Per Brooke Pryor of ESPN, Pittsburgh has agreed to sign Robert Tonyan to a one-year deal.
Tonyan, 32, played for the Packers from 2017-2022, giving him familiarity with both head coach Mike McCarthy and quarterback Aaron Rodgers. Tonyan’s best season came in 2020, when he caught 11 touchdowns from the QB.
He recently received a tryout with Pittsburgh and is now going to join the team’s roster.
Tonyan spent last season with the Chiefs, appearing in all 17 games. He was on the field for 12 percent of offensive snaps and 26 percent of special teams snaps, making just one catch on the season.
Having entered the league in 2017 as an underrated free agent, Tonyan has appeared in 107 career games with 24 starts for the Packers, Bears, Vikings, and Chiefs. He’s caught 149 passes for 1,550 yards with 17 touchdowns.
The Steelers have a lot invested in T.J. Watt and Alex Highsmith, but that didn’t stop them from making another investment in an edge rusher this week.
They signed Nick Herbig to a four-year, $100 million extension in a move that locks up a third member of their talented group. Herbig has steadily improved since the Steelers made him a fourth-round choice in 2023 and he said on Wednesday that he plans to show the team that they bought low on a player with more to give.
“I can’t wait to show them that they made the right choice,” Herbig said, via Will Graves of the Associated Press.
The Steelers didn’t need any convincing to make Herbig a part of their future for the second time in a few years and he’s just one piece of the 2023 draft class that will be sticking around for a while. Tight end Darnell Washington agreed to an extension on Wednesday and cornerback Joey Porter Jr. is on track for one as well.
