The Pittsburgh Steelers are bringing in former Pitt quarterback and Pine-Richland alum Ben DiNucci for a free agent workout, according to a report by Aaron Wilson of KPRC in Houston.
DiNucci, 27, spent the 2023 season on the practice squad of the Denver Broncos and did not play in a regular season game. In three preseason games, he finished 21 of 31 for 187 yards, two touchdowns, no interceptions and one sack. DiNucci was released by Denver in May.
The Steelers already have four quarterbacks on their active roster ahead of training camp, which starts on Wednesday, so the timing of the tryout is curious. Russell Wilson and Justin Fields are expected to compete for the starting job, with Kyle Allen established as a veteran backup and rookie undrafted free agent John Rhys Plumlee as the fourth passer. Plumlee also worked as a return man and a receiver in OTAs and minicamp, and it’s possible that a position switch could be in the works.
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DiNucci had originally been committed to Penn when coming out of Pine-Richland in 2015 before flipping his commitment to Pitt. After a redshirt year, DiNucci replaced an injured Nathan Peterman in Pitt’s Pinstripe Bowl loss in 2016 before becoming a part of a quarterback competition in 2017.
DiNucci initially lost out to USC transfer Max Browne, but replaced Browne multiple times. DiNucci took over as the starter after Browne was lost for the season to an injury at Syracuse on Oct. 7, but DiNucci himself lost the starting job to true freshman Kenny Pickett by the season finale against Miami. In 12 games over three seasons at Pitt, DiNucci threw 91 times, completing 167 for 1,107 yards, six touchdowns and seven interceptions.
After losing the job to Pickett, he transferred to James Madison at the FCS level, where he was a two-year starter, taking the Dukes to the FSC Championship Game as a redshirt senior. In two seasons at JMU, he completed 479 of 687 for 5,716 yards, 45 touchdowns and 18 interceptions. He finished his career tied third in school history in completing and fourth in yards and touchdowns.
The Dallas Cowboys selected DiNucci in the seventh round of the 2020 NFL Draft, and he spent two years as a backup in Dallas. He played in three games, all in 2022, completing 23 of 43 for 219 yards.
After he was released by the Cowboys, DiNucci played with the Seattle SeaDragons of the XFL in 2023, leading the league in passing yards, attempts and completions, before landing back in the NFL with the Broncos.