The Pittsburgh Steelers signed defensive back Grayland Arnold to a contract on Tuesday, according to Mike Garafolo of NFL Network and Arnold’s agents at GSE Worldwide. No terms of the deal were announced.
Starting out as an undrafted free agent out of Baylor, Arnold spent his first professional season jumping between the Philadelphia Eagles’ practice squad and active roster. As a rookie in 2020, Arnold made six appearances and one start for the Eagles. Shortly before the start of the 2021 season, the Eagles decided to release Arnold.
Following his release from the Eagles, Arnold was signed to the Houston Texans practice squad. Arnold spent the last three seasons in Houston and made 20 appearances in the secondary. In his first 26 career games, Arnold has racked up 33 tackles, two tackles for loss, a forced fumble and one pass defended.
In the Texans’ blowout victory of the Steelers last season, Arnold played 42 defensive snaps as he recorded six tackles and one for a loss.
Garafolo listed Arnold as a safety but Arnold appeared in the slot for a majority of his defensive snaps last season. If the Steelers signed him to be a slot cornerback, he will compete against fellow fifth-year veteran Josiah Scott and undrafted rookie Beanie Bishop. While none of the three may end up as the Steelers starting slot corner, as the team heads into the latter part of OTAs, that is how the room sits.
The signing of Arnold puts the Steelers roster at 91 men, but only 90 of them count against the team’s maximum roster capacity. While the roster is complete as of now, expect many more signings and releases as the team powers towards training camp.