Steelers Re-Sign Nine from Practice Squad for 2024

The Pittsburgh Steelers re-signed nine of the 16 members of their 2023 practice squad to reserve/future contracts for the 2024 season, the team announced on Wednesday.

Cornerback Luq Barcoo, fullback Jack Colletto, tackle Kellen Diesch, safety Jalen Elliott, wide receiver Dez Fitzpatrick, defensive tackle Jonathan Marshall, center/guard Ryan McCollum, wide receiver Denzel Mims and wide receiver Duece Watts have all be re-signed for the 2024 season.

Barcoo, 25, signed with the Steelers this May after a productive spring with the San Antonio Brahmas of the XFL. He was released at the end of training camp, signed to the practice squad, and spent almost the entire season there, without being elevated for a game.

Colletto signed with the practice squad on Oct. 9 and spent the rest of the year there without being elevated. A rookie out of Oregon State, Colletto played linebacker on scout team and could be a special teams performer if he gets a shot to prove himself in training camp in 2024.

Diesch joined the Pittsburgh practice squad on Aug. 30 after having spent training camp with the Chicago Bears. The rookie free agent out of Arizona State is 6-foot-7, 300 pounds and extremely athletic, posted a 9.75 Relative Athletic Score coming in his pre-draft testing in 2022.

Elliott was with the Steelers in training camp, and then came back around for two stints on the practice squad this season. He did not play in a game. The 25-year-old Richmond, Virginia native played in 44 games at Notre Dame while racking up six interceptions and 11 pass deflections.

Fitzpatrick is the only one of the eight players to appear in a game for the Steelers this season. The 26-year-old wide receiver appeared in the team’s Week 4 loss to the Houston Texans, played three snaps of special teams. He spent the rest of the season on the practice squad as the club’s de facto No. 6 wide receiver. A third-year pro out of Louisville, Fitzpatrick signed with the Steelers last January.

Marshall will be back for his third season in black and gold. The 26-year-old first joined the Steelers in December 2022, when he was signed off the New York Jets’ practice squad. He was with the team all through the 2023 offseason and spent all of the season on the practice squad.

McCollum was elevated from the practice squad for one game for the Steelers this season, against the Baltimore Ravens in Week 5, but he did not play. The 25-year-old center/guard first joined the Steelers late in training camp in 2022, when they claimed him off waivers from the Detroit Lions. He spent all of 2022 and 2023 on the practice squad.

A second-round pick of the New York Jets in the 2020 NFL Draft, Mims is the highest-pedigree player among the returning Steelers practice squad members. The 6-foot-3, 207-pound signed with the Steelers’ practice squad on Oct. 3.

Watts, a rookie from Tulane, joined the practice squad on Sept. 20 after spending training camp with the Green Bay Packers. He was very productive in college at Tulane, but did not test well in the pre-draft process.