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Steelers Snag Offensive Lineman off Waivers from Patriots
The Pittsburgh Steelers have claimed guard Lecitus Smith off waivers from the New England Patriots, according to the NFL transactions report for Monday. Tom Pelissero of NFL Network first reported the news.
Smith is 26 years old and was a sixth-round pick of the Arizona Cardinals coming out of Virginia Tech in the 2022 NFL Draft. Smith played in 10 games as a rookie and even made two starts, playing mostly at right guard.
After his second training camp with the Cardinals, Smith was released. He spent time with the Houston Texans and Philadelphia Eagles practice squads in 2023, but did not play in a game. He re-signed with the Eagles for 2024, but was waived in April.
Smith caught on with the Green Bay Packers, was cut at the end of training camp and was signed to the practice squad. The Patriots signed Smith off the Green Bay practice squad on Oct. 15 and he played in eight games, making one start. Smith spent most of his time with the Patriots on special teams, playing just five snaps of offense, mostly as a jumbo tight end.
The Patriots placed Smith on waivers last week, and the Steelers made their first waiver claim of the offseason by adding him.
A 6-foot-3, 314 pounds native of Fitzgerald, Georgia, Smith picked the Hokies over Arkansas, Louisville, NC State and Oklahoma as a three-star prospect in 2017. He redshirted in his first collegiate season, but made four starts in 2018.
Smith played almost exclusively left guard for Virginia Tech, taking over the starting job as a redshirt sophomore in 2019 and holding the job for three seasons. He also played one game as a left tackle as a redshirt senior in 2021.
In pre-draft testing, Smith showed below-average size, strength (23 bench press reps) and explosiveness (8-foot-3 broad jump, 25.5-inch vertical), but ran a solid 5.18-second 40-yard dash and posted above-average shuttle and three-cone times for an overall 6.48 Relative Athletic Score.
The Cardinals drafted Smith seven picks after the Steelers selected Connor Heyward in the 2022 NFL Draft.
The Steelers lost a pair of veteran guards to free agency earlier this offseason, with James Daniels and Nate Herbig both departing. While the starting roles appear to be safety manned by Isaac Seumalo and Mason McCormick, Smith will give the team another experienced backup to pair with Spencer Anderson.
Smith is the second former Patriots player the Steelers have added in a week, joining defensive lineman Daniel Ekuale.