The Steelers have officially signed wide receiver Ray-Ray McCloud and waived wide receiver Saeed Blacknall.
McCloud, 23, was a sixth-round draft pick by the Buffalo Bills in the 2018 NFL Draft out of Clemson. The 5-foot-10 wide receiver appeared in 10 games as rookie with Buffalo, making one start and had five catches for 36 yards. He was waived at the outset of the 2019 season and caught on with the Carolina Panthers. He appeared in six games without a target for the Panthers.
In addition to his receiving duties, McCloud worked as both a kick and punt returner at both of his previous NFL stops, with career averages of 7.3 yards per punt return and 21.3 yards per kickoff return.
McCloud had re-signed with the Bills this offseason, but was among their pre-camp releases on July 28.
In three seasons at Clemson, McCloud caught 127 balls for 1,226 yards and four touchdowns and was a three-year teammate of fellow Steelers wide receiver Deon Cain.
The Steelers have not had a dedicated kick returner on their roster since waiving Quadree Henderson at the outset of camp. Diontae Johnson, Ryan Switzer and Kerrith Whyte have experience at those positions.
The Steelers signed Blacknall in April after the Penn State product completed an abbreviated season in the XFL. He last played for the Los Angeles Wildcats, where he caught four passes for 120 yards and two scores.
Blacknall caught 50 passes for 979 yards and seven touchdowns over his Penn State career, before signing as an undrafted free agent with the Oakland Raiders in 2018. He has also spent time with the Miami Dolphins and Arizona Cardinals.
By exchanging Blacknall for McCloud, the Steelers remain at the 80-man roster limit.