It’s always interesting to keep tabs on where former Pittsburgh Steelers wind up. Yesterday, we wrote about Troy Polamalu’s new job in the AAF, a new football league expected to debut in 2019. Also on Tuesday, the new Spring Football League released their rosters, which includes a litter of Steelers you may or may not remember.
Former Steelers, by team, include:
EAST ROSTER
WR Tyler Murphy
NORTH ROSTER
RB David Cobb
WR Shakim Phillips
CB JaCorey Shepherd
SOUTH ROSTER
RB Ben Tate
TE Jay Rome
OL Cameron Clear
OL Jerome Daniels
WEST ROSTER
NT Alameda Ta’amu
Ta’amu is arguably the biggest name on the list. He was drafted by the Steelers in the fourth round of the 2012 draft but never made an impact on the field and was mostly known for his arrest in October of 2012. He made three starts and played over 200 snaps for the Arizona Cardinals in 2013.
Tate will be remembered, or attempted to be forgotten, for starting the 2014 Wild Card game against the Baltimore Ravens after Le’Veon Bell went down. Tate rushed five times for 19 yards in the loss.
Murphy caught one pass as a Steeler, Phillips spent a couple of camps with the team, and Cobb was on Pittsburgh’s practice squad in 2016. Shepherd was added to the training camp roster last year. Rome briefly spent time with the Steelers before getting hurt and Daniels was a tryout player this past year.
Clear was someone Todd Haley seemed to like, snagging him as a UDFA in 2016, but he never stuck. He’s now listed as an offensive linemen, weighing in at 310 pounds, a transition some draftniks floated out when Clear was coming out of Texas A&M.
Headlining the Spring League’s roster is Johnny Manziel, playing for the South squad. Each team will play two games, beginning later this month, and running through April as a “springboard” to get these players back on the NFL’s radar.
