Report: Steelers to Meet with Free Agent Safety Karl Joseph

Former West Virginia and Cleveland Browns safety Karl Joseph will visit the Pittsburgh Steelers as a free agent on Wednesday, according to a report by Josina Anderson of Undefined.

Joseph, 27, spent the 2020 season in Cleveland after spending his first four NFL seasons with the Oakland Raiders, which had made him the No. 14 overall pick in the 2016 NFL Draft.

With the Browns, Joseph appeared in 14 games and made eight starts as part of secondary that was ravaged by injuries and COVID-19 issues throughout the 2020 season. He finished with 67 tackles, tied for third on the team, along with our passes defended and two fumble recoveries. He also recovered a fumbled Maurkice Pouncey snap for a touchdown in the Browns’ Wild Card playoff win over then Steelers and had an interception in the Divisional Round against Kansas City.

The 5-foot-10, 200-pound strong safety stepped into a starting role as a rookie with Oakland in 2016, but lost playing time in 2018 and in 2019, the Raiders declined the fifth-year option on his contract. He signed a one-year deal with Cleveland for 2020 for $2.43 million and is now an unrestricted free agent.

The Steelers have entrenched starters at both safety spots in Terrell Edmunds and Minkah Fitzpatrick, but experienced backups Sean Davis and Jordan Dangerfield are both unrestricted free agents, leaving only little-used 2020 rookies Antoine Brooks and John Battle as depth at the position.