Chargers Poach WR from Steelers Practice Squad

The Pittsburgh Steelers are losing a member of their practice squad, as the Los Angeles Chargers are signing away wide receiver Simi Fehoko.

Fehoko broke the news on his TikTok account, as he was on his way to Los Angeles on Monday night.

The Steelers have the option to promote a player to their 53-man roster in order to prevent him from being poached from the practice squad. But they do not have an open roster spot and recently chose to promote wide receiver Dez Fitzpatrick instead of Fehoko.

@simifehoko13 Did somebody say plot twist? #nfl #blessed #movingagain #newbeginnings ♬ original sound – Simi Fehoko

Fehoko, 25, joined the Steelers’ practice squad after being released by the Dallas Cowboys at the end of training camp. Despite injuries to wide receivers Diontae Johnson and Gunner Olszewski, he was not selected to be elevated to the active roster in his first three weeks with the team.

A 6-foot-4, 218-pound Stanford alum and the cousin of Steelers nose tackle Breiden Fehoko, Simi was a fifth-round pick of the Cowboys in 2021.

During those two years in Dallas, he played in 10 games and caught three of four targets for 24 yards. In October 2022, he suffered a shoulder injury that put him on injured reserve in Dallas.

Fehoko is a Salt Lake City native. He went on a two-year mission to Korea before enrolling at Stanford to play college football in 2018. During those years, he earned a first-team All-Pac 12 selection in 2020, catching 37 passes for 574 yards in just six games. He finished college with 1,146 yards and nine touchdowns on 62 receptions.

The Los Angeles Chargers lost outside receiver Mike Williams for the season to an ACL injury in Week 4 and will likely use Fehoko to replace him on the 53-man roster, with first-round pick Quentin Johnston stepping up into a larger role in the offense ahead of Fehoko.

The Steelers have two other wide receivers on their practice squad: Jacob Copeland and Duece Watts.