The Steelers made it official and signed six undrafted rookie free agents that they agreed to terms with following the conclusion of the 2023 NFL Draft.
Those who were signed on Friday during the team's rookie minicamp are wide receiver/return specialist Jordan Byrd, quarterback Tanner Morgan, defensive end James Nyamwaya, linebacker David Perales, fullback Monte Pottebaum and kicker B.T. Potter.
More on the undrafted rookie free agents:
Wide Receiver/Return Specialist Jordan Byrd comes to the Steelers from San Diego State where he played in 58 games. He had 47 career receptions for 219 yards and one touchdown. He carried the ball 275 times for 1,353 yards and 12 touchdowns. In 2022 he had 102 carries for 290 yards and three touchdowns. He was a return specialist for the Aztecs and was named first-team All-Mountain West at both kick returner and punt returner by the league's head coaches and media, the first Aztec to ever be named first team at both positions in 2022. He scored three touchdowns on kick returns and one on a punt return in his career.
Quarterback Tanner Morgan played at Minnesota where he set numerous school records, including season records of most passing yards with 3,253 (2019), touchdown passes with 30 (2019) and passing yards per game with 250.2 (2019). His final season he played in the East-West Shrine Bowl, the Hula Bowl, and was a Wuerffel Trophy finalist. He won 33 games for the Golden Gophers, completing 661 of 1,063 pass attempts for 9,454 yards and 65 touchdowns.
Defensive end James Nyamwaya from Merrimack College played in 10 games in 2022 and recorded 27 tackles, 20 of them solo stops. He also had five and a half sacks, one forced fumble and a fumble recovery. He had three sacks for a loss of 24 yards against Long Island University. He also was named second-team All-NEC last season.
Linebacker David Perales finished his career at Fresno State with 22.5 sacks, the sixth most in school history. He started 13 of 14 games in 2022 and finished with a career-high 11.5 sacks and 16 tackles for a loss. Perales had two forced fumbles, one interception and five passes defensed. He ranked seventh in the FBS in sacks. He transferred to Fresno State after starting his college career Sacramento State.
Fullback Monte Pottebaum played in 45 games in four seasons at Iowa, starting 13. He had 20 carries for 82 yards and a touchdown. He also added 10 receptions for 85 yards. Pottebaum started out as a linebacker at Iowa but switched to fullback in 2019. He won the Coaches Appreciation Award for special teams in 2022 and the Team Hustle Award on offense in 2021 and 2022. Pottebaum grew up cheering for the Steelers.
Kicker B.T. Potter finished his Clemson career as one of the most successful kickers in Clemson and ACC history. He finished his career hitting 73 of 97 field goals and 234 of 235 PATs. He holds the Clemson record for career field goals (73), PATs (234), points by a placekicker (453), consecutive PATs made (the first 122 and last 112 of his career), yards on field goals (2,716), field goals of 40-plus yards (34) and field goals of 50-plus yards (nine). He became the first player in ACC history to have at least 100 points in four different seasons. Potter scored in every game since earning the starting placekicking job in 2019.
