The Steelers have signed former Eagles running back Jason Huntley to their practice squad, the team announced on Friday.
Huntley was a fifth-round pick in the 2020 NFL Draft out of New Mexico State. He started his career with the Lions, but was released before the first preseason game. Shortly thereafter, he caught on with the Philadelphia Eagles and he had been with the team since 2020. However, he was released on Tuesday during the final rounds of cutdowns.
Over his years with the Eagles, Huntley put up 18 rushes for 70 yards. He also registered five kick returns for 120 yards over those two seasons. The connection here for the Steelers and Huntley is Andy Weidl. It is likely that Weidl facilitated this moving occurring and the Steelers now have two running backs on their practice squad with Huntley and Anthony McFarland Jr.
During his career at New Mexico State, Huntley caught 134 passes and rushed for over 2000 yards, including a 1090-yard season during his senior campaign. In the kick return game, Huntley amassed five return touchdowns and over 1500 return yards over those years.
Huntley was signed along with former Bengals defensive tackle Renell Wren, who was reportedly signed yesterday. That now brings the Steelers up to 13 players on their 16-man practice squad overall as they continue a retooling process of the team. Many of their practice squad have been from outside the organization, including many with connections to Weidl.
The Steelers are still filling out their practice squad. They can put as many as 16 players on the practice squad. Up to two practice squad players can be activated to the game-day roster each week without needing to be added to the 53-man roster. Each practice squad player can be called up three times in a season before they must be added to the 53-man roster.