The Pittsburgh Steelers have lost another of their own free agents, as offensive lineman J.C. Hassenauer has agreed to a contract with the New York Giants, according to a report by Darren Wolfson of KSTP Minneapolis. Terms of the contract were not reported.
Hassenauer has previously taken a free-agent visit with the Giants. He had been slated to become a restricted free agent this offseason, but the Steelers did not tender him a contract, making him a restricted free agent. As such, he will not count in the compensatory draft pick formula.
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The Steelers originally signed Hassenauer in 2019, after he had been playing with the Birmingham Iron in the AAF. He did not make the team that year, but was re-signed to the club after center Maurkice Pouncey was suspended for his role in the Myles Garrett-Mason Rudolph brawl.
He turned that late-season run on the Steelers’ 2019 practice squad into an opportunity for 2020, when Hassenauer won a role as Maurkice Pouncey’s top backup at center. In 2020, he made four starts as Pouncey’s backup. In 2021, Hassenauer lost a training camp battle to rookie Kendrick Green, but came on and replaced Green late in the season, taking the job from the third-round rookie after his injury.
Last season, Hassenauer backed up center Mason Cole and played in 46 snaps of offensive over 17 games.
The Steelers have aggressively added to the interior of their offensive line this offseason, adding Isaac Seumalo and Nate Herbig to the mix, and have continued to scout the top interior linemen in the 2023 NFL Draft.
The combination of additions made it unlikely that Hassenauer was going to be able to retain his role with the Steelers in 2023. Giants head coach Brian Daboll was the offensive coordinator at Alabama for Hassenauer in 2017.