Report: Free Agent Safety Malik Hooker Visited with Steelers

Pittsburgh-area native NFL free agent Malik Hooker was back in the area on Thursday, and it wasn’t just for a taste of some home cooking.


Hooker, who posted a photo on Instagram from Pittsburgh International Airport and said on Twitter that he missed the food from his hometown of New Castle on Thursday, also met with the Pittsburgh Steelers, according to a report by Ian Rapoport of NFL Network.

Hooker, 25, spent the last four seasons with the Indianapolis Colts after being taken in the first round of the 2017 NFL Draft out of Ohio State. With the Colts, the 6-foot-1, 214-pound Hooker became a starter at free safety in his second season in 2018.

He was a full-time starter for two seasons, bringing in two interceptions, a fumble recovery and 30 solo tackles in each 2018 and 2019. But the Colts still chose to decline the fifth-year option on his contract before the 2020 season.

Two games into the 2020 campaign, Hooker tore his Achilles tendon, ending his time in Indianapolis.

The New Castle product is a free agent for the first time in his career and has also met with the Miami Dolphins and Dallas Cowboys this offseason.

The Steelers lost backup free safety Sean Davis to free agency this offseason, while Dime corner and sometimes safety Cam Sutton has moved to an outside cornerback role. The team did use one of two seventh-round picks on Oklahoma free safety and slot corner Tre Norwood. Second-year player Antoine Brooks Jr. is the other backup safety.