Steelers add former 1st-round pick Karl Joseph of WVU to practice squad

Karl Joseph, the former West Virginia safety who was a first-round pick of the then-Oakland Raiders in 2016, was one of 15 players the Pittsburgh Steelers signed to their practice squad Wednesday.

Joseph, 27, spent his first four seasons with the Raiders and was in their training camp this season in Las Vegas before he was released Tuesday. Joseph, the No. 14 overall pick, spent the 2020 season with the Cleveland Browns.

In five NFL seasons, Joseph has started 49 of 63 games and has five career interceptions while primarily playing strong safety. The Steelers have four safeties on their 53-man roster.

Also added to the practice squad were wide receivers Cody White and Rico Bussey, tight end Kevin Rader, running backs Trey Edmunds and Jaylen Samuels, offensive linemen Chaz Green, Malcolm Pridgeon and John Leglue, and defensive backs Mark Gilbert and Donovan Stiner.

Joseph was one of five players the Steelers signed from outside the organization. The others were wide receiver Steven Sims, linebackers Derrek Tuszka and Christian Miller and defensive end Daniel Archibong.

Sims is a 5-foot-10, 176-pound receiver who spent the past two years with Washington. He made four starts in 28 games and accumulated 61 receptions for 575 yards and five touchdowns. Sims was cut in training camp by Washington and signed with Buffalo only to be cut five days later.

Tuszka is a 6-4, 251-pound edge rusher who spent 2020 with the Denver Broncos and appeared in nine games. He provides depth at a position where the Steelers kept four outside linebackers on the 53-man roster. Miller also is an edge rusher who is 6-3, 245. He appeared in seven games last season with the Carolina Panthers.

Archibong, an undrafted rookie free agent, was in training camp with the Chicago Bears.

Samuels is the only former Steelers draft pick to return to the team on the practice squad. He was released Tuesday after three seasons as a backup running back. Edmunds, who primarily played fullback this summer, has been on and off the Steelers roster for each of the past three years and has contributed on special teams. Rader, of Pine-Richland fame, made his NFL debut with the Steelers late last season and was in the running for one of the three tight end spots in training camp.

Outside linebacker Quincy Roche, the only one of the team’s nine draft picks who was cut Tuesday, was claimed off waivers by the New York Giants.

The Steelers can add one more player to the 16-man practice squad.