Steelers Bring in Four Cornerbacks for Tryouts

The Steelers hosted four cornerbacks for workouts on Wednesday following the shuffling of the deck on the 53-man roster. Darius Rush joined the 53-man roster while Desmond King was released. Luq Barcoo is the only cornerback on the practice squad right now. So, the Steelers brought Don Gardner, Thakarius Keyes, Rachad Wildgoose, and Rejzohn Wright to the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex for a workout.

Gardner spent all of 2022 on the Buccaneers practice squad but suffered a hamstring injury that knocked him out of training camp. The Buccaneers waived/injured him following that injury, and now he is trying to find another spot in the NFL. Gardner played in just one game last season.

BROOKINGS, SD – NOVEMBER 16: South Dakota State CB Don Gardner against Northern Iowa – (Photo by Dave Eggen/Inertia)

Gardner came out of South Dakota State in 2022. While with the Jackrabbits, he racked up two interceptions and 15 pass deflections over his years in Brookings. He ran a 4.48 40-yard dash and registered a 36 1/2-inch vertical jump on his pro day when coming out. The 6-foot-1, 180-pound cornerback plays with physicality and has the requisite athletic traits that teams strive to see in cornerbacks.

Keyes, also known as ‘BoPete Keyes,’ last played for the Cleveland Browns. He has been all around the NFL world, landing with eight different teams since coming into the NFL in 2020 as a seventh-round pick with the Kansas City Chiefs. In his career, he has nine tackles. Before his professional career, Keyes played with Tulane, allowing just a 45 percent completion rate in his breakout 2019 campaign that landed him on NFL maps. He scored two interceptions across his two years starting and earned an All-American Honorable Mention in 2019.

Wright appeared on the popular reality TV show ‘Last Chance U’ before landing at Oregon State. A rookie, Wright went undrafted in the 2023 draft class, signing with the Panthers and ending up later with the Raiders. The Raiders released Wright last Wednesday. His brother, Nahson Wright, is a cornerback for the Dallas Cowboys. While with Oregon State, Wright nabbed two interceptions and nine pass deflections in an All-Pac-12 season in 2022.

The Buffalo Bills selected Wildgoose in the sixth round of the 2021 NFL Draft out of Wisconsin. However, he did not last there, ending up on the practice squad and bouncing to the New York Jets after they signed him to their active roster. He played on the Washington Commanders in 2022 before being cut this season at the end of training camp. Wildgoose ran a 4.53 40-yard dash coming out of college.