Steelers Work Out 3 LBs, Including former Eagles Draft Pick

The Pittsburgh Steelers worked out three linebackers since the club’s preseason game on Friday, a sign the team might not be done making additions to the position.

The Steelers placed inside linebacker Chapelle Russell II on injured reserve after he suffered a knee injury in the team’s 27-17 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Friday. Nick Kwiatkoski also suffered a shoulder injury in the game and has yet to return to practice.

The team has signed one linebacker already, adding former Indianapolis Colts and Villanova linebacker Forrest Rhyne before practice on Sunday.

According to a report by Aaron Wilson of KPRC-TV in Houston, the Steelers also worked out three other players at the position: Mariano Sori-Marin, Davion Taylor and Tyreek Maddox-Williams.

Sori-Marin is a 6-foot-2, 236-pound rookie out of Minnesota. He originally signed as a UDFA with the San Francisco 49ers, but was waived with an injury designation on June 20, after the 49ers’ minicamp.

As a senior at Minnesota in 2022, Sori-Marin racked up 88 tackles, six of them for a loss, 1.5 sacks and three passes defended on his way to an All-Big Ten selection.

Taylor, 25, is entering his fourth pro season and spent the last three with the Philadelphia Eagles, where he was a third-round draft pick of Colorado in 2020.

Taylor spent his entire rookie season on injured reserve. In 2021, he worked his way into the starting lineup, but again ended the season prematurely with an injury. Last August, the Eagles released him and added him to their practice squad, but he was not elevated to the active roster for any games. The Eagles re-signed Taylor for 2023, but released him on Aug. 6.

In total, Taylor has played in 21 NFL games and made seven starts, racking up 51 tackles, one tackle for loss, and two forced fumbles. PFF gave him un-kind grades of 27.4 in 2021 and 38.6 in 2022.

Maddox-Williams is a Rutgers grad that joined the Los Angeles Chargers as an undrafted free agent last summer and spent the 2022 season on the LA practice squad without playing a game. The Chargers re-signed him for 2023, but waived him on July 28.

Slightly undersized at 6-foot, 228 pounds, he played a rotational role at Rutgers in his final two seasons after starting in 2018 and 2019. The latter was his best statistical collegiate season, with 45 tackles, 5.5 tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks and two passes defended.

The Steelers have three inside linebackers rotating for two spots with the first time: Kwon Alexander, Cole Holcomb and Elandon Roberts. Second-year player Mark Robinson and free agent special teams ace Tanner Muse are currently working with the second team, with just Rhyne, behind them while Kwiatkoski is out injured.