Raiders Sign former Steelers Tight End

The Las Vegas Raiders are snapping up a former member of the Pittsburgh Steelers that has been on another team’s practice squad all season.

The Raiders are signing tight end Zach Gentry from the Cincinnati Bengals practice squad, according to a report by Tom Pelissero of NFL Network. The Raiders are dealing with injuries to tight ends Michael Mayer and Jesper Horsted, with Austin Hooper entering the week as the lone fully healthy tight end on their roster.

Gentry, 27, has spent the entire season on the Cincinnati practice squad and has not been called up to appear in a game yet this season. He was released among the final Steelers cuts coming out of training camp.

The Steelers’ fifth-round pick out of Michigan in 2019, Gentry saw a steadily-increasing role in the Steelers offense over his four seasons in black and gold.

He played in just six games over his first two seasons, but started to come into his own in 2021, when he appeared in all 17 games for the Steelers. Gentry set career highs with 19 catches and 167 yards. The most memorable catch of Gentry’s career was during the Steelers 2021 Wild Card defeat in which he caught Ben Roethlisberger’s last professional pass.

In 2022, he appeared in all 17 games for the Steelers. Gentry caught 19 passes on 23 targets and one drop. In total, Gentry converted those 19 catches for 132 yards while failing to score a touchdown. Most of Gentry’s receiving production came within the first half of the season as he hauled in 12 of his 19 catches before the team’s Week 10 bye week. After the bye, the team transitioned to a more ground-based attack, with Gentry providing most of the blocking of the tight end duo alongside Pat Freiermuth.

The Steelers drafted Darnell Washington out of Georgia in the third round of the 2023 NFL Draft, and Washington has generally replaced Gentry in terms of a blocking-first tight end.

The Steelers will be rooting for Gentry and the Raiders this week, as a Las Vegas win over the Indianapolis Colts would greatly help the Steelers playoff chances.