The Pittsburgh Steelers had a rare miss in free agency, as an offensive linemen that the team hosted for a visit has signed elsewhere.
The Steelers hosted free agent tackle Joshua Miles for a visit on Monday, according to the NFL transactions wire. On Friday, he officially signed with the Atlanta Falcons. Miles is the first player to visit the Steelers in free agency this offseason and then sign elsewhere.
A 6-foot-5, 325-pound tackle, Miles spent the last four seasons with the Arizona Cardinals after being selected in the seventh round of the 2019 NFL Draft out of Morgan State, where he was coach by Steelers assistant offensive line coach Isaac Williams.
Miles missed the entire 2022 season with an undisclosed injury. He was put on the Cardinals’ injured reserve list before the start of the season. He also missed seven games in 2021 with an ankle injury.
Even when healthy, Miles was not a big contributor for the Cardinals. He played just 23 snaps of offense over his four seasons in Phoenix. He as a more-regular contributor on special teams. Miles does posses a compelling athletic background, combing his 6-foot-5 frame with 35 1/2-inch arms and a 36-inch vertical jump.
The Steelers recently signed Le’Raven Clark to be their No. 3 offensive tackle, behind starters Dan Moore Jr. and Chukwuma Okorafor. They are still looking for a No. 4 tackle, which could have been Miles.
Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin said on Sunday that he is “comfortable” with his starting situation at tackle, but has stressed upgrading the depth of the offensive line this offseason after last year’s starters each played all 17 games.
“We were fortunate,” Tomlin said. “But you know, we should anticipate not being as fortunate. That’s why just the acquisition of starter-capable dudes that create competition and quality depth is appropriate and probably necessary. It’s reasonable to expect that shouldn’t happen again.”