Running back Wendell Smallwood is getting another shot with an NFL team, this time the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Smallwood, the former West Virginia runner who spent time with the Philadelphia Eagles and Washington, will get his first chance to play in the AFC North. The Steelers signed Smallwood to a one-year contract Tuesday, adding him to a crowded backfield room.
A fifth-round pick by the Eagles in the 2016 NFL Draft, the 5-foot-10, 208-pound Smallwood earned 12 starts in three years and rushed for 850 yards and five touchdowns while averaging 4.0 yards per carry.
Smallwood spent two more years with the Eagles and received a ring when Philadelphia defeated New England, 41-33, in Super Bowl LII.
Smallwood will compete for a backup spot on the Steelers, who already have starters James Conner and backups Benny Snell Jr., Jaylen Samuels, Trey Edmunds and fourth-round pick Anthony McFarland Jr. on the roster.
At West Virginia, Smallwood led the Big 12 in rushing as a junior with 1,519 yards and nine touchdowns on 238 carries. He decided to skip his senior year and enter the NFL Draft. He left school as WVU’s ninth all-time leading rusher.
