The Steelers kicked off the first day of rookie minicamp at the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex on Friday, and didn't wait very long to add some of the players to the roster.
The Steelers signed four of their selections from the 2023 NFL Draft after the conclusion of Friday's workout, agreeing to terms with third-round pick Darnell Washington, fourth-round pick Nick Herbig and both seventh-round picks, Cory Trice Jr. and Spencer Anderson.
With Friday's signings, the Steelers have locked up four of the seven players from this year's draft class. While the financial terms are not yet known, all four players signed the typical four-year contracts for draft picks. Only first-round picks get a fifth-year option.
Six of the undrafted rookie free agents in attendance for the three-day camp this weekend also agreed to terms with the Steelers on Friday afternoon: WR Jordan Byrd, QB Tanner Morgan, DE James Nyamwaya, LB David Perales, FB Monte Pottebaum and K B.T. Potter.
Washington brings freakish size and athleticism to the tight end room. The Steelers are very intrigued by what he can add to Matt Canada's offense, though his role hasn't yet been etched in stone.
"I'm not sure how I'm going to be used, but any way possible I'm all for it," Washington said Friday. "If it starts off with special teams, whatever it may be, whatever it is, man, I'm all for it. I just recently came from a great tight end room at the University of Georgia. I'm just going to continue to do that and just continue to play my role."
Herbig, the younger brother of Steeles' newcomer, Nate Herbig, is coming off a season at Wisconsin in which he was named first team All-Big Ten and third team AP All-American. He led the Badgers with 11.0 sacks and 15.5 tackles for loss. The latter led the Big Ten and ranked 18th in the country. Herbig's 1.0 sacks per game led the nation and was the highest mark for Wisconsin since Tarek Saleh in 1996.
Trice is a similar style cornerback as second-round pick, Joey Porter Jr. They're both long and physical cornerbacks who thrive in press coverage. He was projected to go much higher in the draft than the seventh round, but a significant injury history -- including a broken ankle in high school and a torn ACL in 2021 -- impacted his draft stock.
Anderson comes to the Steelers with a lot of versatility, logging starts at every position on Maryland's offensive line except left guard throughout his career.
Byrd played 58 games with San Diego State, racking up 47 career receptions for 219 yards and one touchdown. He comes to the Steelers as a gadget-type player that can also compete for a spot in kick and/or punt return. With the Aztecs, Byrd carried the ball 275 times for 1,353 yards and 12 touchdowns, and was a return specialist, being named first-team All-Mountain West at both kick returner and punt returner by the league's head coaches and media. He scored three touchdowns on kick returns and one on a punt return in his career.
Morgan played at Minnesota where he set numerous school records, including season records of most passing yards (3,253), touchdown passes (30) and passing yards per game with (250.2) -- all set in 2019. Morgan played in the East-West Shrine Bowl, the Hula Bowl and was a Wuerffel Trophy finalist. He won 33 games for the Golden Gophers, completing 661 of 1,063 pass attempts for 9,454 yards and 65 touchdowns.
Nyamwaya from Merrimack College played in 10 games in 2022, recording 27 total tackles, 5.5 sacks, one forced fumble and a fumble recovery. He also was named second-team All-NEC last season.
After starting his career at Sacramento State, Perales finished his career at Fresno State, where he finished with 22.5 sacks, the sixth most in school history. He started 13 of 14 games in 2022 and finished with a career-high 11.5 sacks, ranking seventh in the FBS, and had 16 tackles for a loss. Perales also had two forced fumbles, one interception and five passes defensed.
Pottebaum played in 45 games in four seasons at Iowa, starting 13. He started out as a linebacker at Iowa but switched to fullback in 2019. He finished his career with 20 carries for 82 yards and a touchdown, and also added 10 receptions for 85 yards. He won the Coaches Appreciation Award for special teams in 2022 and the Team Hustle Award on offense in 2021 and 2022. Pottebaum grew up cheering for the Steelers, and is now the only true fullback on the roster.
Potter finished his Clemson career as one of the most successful kickers in school and ACC history. Throughout his career, he made 73 of 97 field goals and 234 of 235 PATs. He holds the Clemson record for career field goals, PATs, points by a placekicker, consecutive PATs made (the first 122 and last 112 of his career), yards on field goals, field goals of 40-plus yards and field goals of 50-plus yards. Potter became the first player in ACC history to have at least 100 points in four different seasons.
