The Steelers signed 12 players to Reserve/Future contracts on Tuesday.
All of the players who were signed spent time on the team's practice squad during the 2021 season and include the following: defensive end Daniel Archibong, wide receiver Rico Bussey, defensive tackle Khalil Davis, guard Nathan Gilliam, guard Malcolm Pridgeon, linebacker Delontae Scott, kicker Sam Sloman, defensive back Linden Stephens, tight end Jace Sternberger, safety Donovan Stiner, long snapper Rex Sunahara and wide receiver Tyler Vaughns.
A little more about the Reserve/Futures signings:
Daniel Archibong was signed to the Steelers practice squad at the start of the season and was elevated for the games against the Bengals and Chargers, seeing playing time in both games. He had two tackles against the Chargers.
Rico Bussey signed as an undrafted rookie free agent following the 2021 NFL Draft. The former Hawaii receiver started all eight games in 2020. Finished third on the team in receptions with 31 and had 274 yards receiving. Caught at least one pass in seven of eight games. Transferred to Hawaii from North Texas, where he caught 128 receptions for 1,914 yards and 21 touchdowns for the Mean Green. His 21 receiving touchdowns rank fourth in school history.
Khalil Davis is the twin brother of defensive lineman Carlos Davis. Davis was a sixth-round pick of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the 2020 NFL Draft.
Nathan Gilliam was signed to the practice squad late in the season. Gilliam, who played college ball at Wake Forest, was signed by the Los Angeles Chargers as an undrafted rookie free agent following the 2020 NFL Draft and spent his rookie season on their practice squad.
Malcolm Pridgeon originally signed with the Steelers during training camp. He entered the NFL as an undrafted rookie free agent following the 2019 NFL Draft with the Houston Texans. He was released before the start of the season, and then signed to the Cleveland Browns practice squad.
Delontae Scott was signed by the Green Bay Packers as an undrafted rookie free agent following the 2020 NFL Draft. He played at SMU where he appeared in 40 games and had 97 tackles, 36 of them for a loss, with 18 sacks and five forced fumbles. In his senior season he had 10 of his 18 sacks as well as three forced fumbles.
Sam Sloman spent his rookie season with both the Los Angeles Rams and Tennessee Titans. Sloman was originally drafted by the Rams in the seventh round of the 2020 NFL Draft and won the starting job in training camp, beating out two other kickers. Sloman played in seven games for the Rams and converted on 8-of-11 (72.7%) field goal attempts and made 18-of-21 (85.7%) extra point attempts. The Rams released him following Week 7. Sloman kicked in eight games and connected on 10-of-13 field goal attempts (76.9%) and 23 of 26 extra points (88.5%).
Linden Stephens was signed to the practice squad on Oct. 13. He originally signed with the New Orleans Saints as an undrafted free agent following the 2018 NFL Draft. He has spent time with multiple teams, including the Los Angeles Rams, Denver Broncos, Seattle Seahawks, Miami Dolphins, Washington Football Team and Baltimore Ravens. He played college football at the University of Cincinnati where he played in 50 games, had six interceptions, 26 pass defenses, a forced fumble and 140 tackles.
Jace Sternberger was selected by the Green Bay Packers in the 2019 NFL Draft but was released earlier this year.
Donovan Stiner was on the practice squad since the start of the regular season. He was signed by the Steelers as an undrafted rookie free agent following the 2021 NFL Draft and had an interception in the Hall of Fame game against the Cowboys. Stiner finished his college career at Florida playing in 48 games and recording 150 tackles with three interceptions. In 2020 he played in 11 games, starting 10, and recorded 62 tackles, two tackles for a loss and one pass breakup. He had a season-high nine tackles against Ole Miss.
Rex Sunahara signed was signed to the practice squad in early December, but released several days later.
Tyler Vaughns was signed to the practice squad in September. He was originally signed by the Indianapolis Colts following the 2021 NFL Draft as an undrafted rookie free agent. He played at USC where he had 222 receptions for 2,810 yards and 20 touchdowns in four seasons, included a shorted 2020 season.
