Steelers Now
The Pittsburgh Steelers added a familiar face to their practice squad last week, bringing back receiver John Rhys Plumlee. His tenure with the team was short, however, as the Steelers released the Swiss Army knife QB/WR on Tuesday.
In corresponding moves, the Steelers signed defensive back Daequan Hardy and linebacker Mark Robinson to the practice squad. The team also released outside linebacker K.J. Henry.
Plumlee spent training camp with the Steelers in 2024, serving as the team’s fourth quarterback before being released that August. He had a stint on the Jacksonville Jaguars’ practice squad, then latched on with the Seattle Seahawks in the same capacity, signed a reserve/future contract with them in January and was cut last month.
Plumlee played two sports at Ole Miss, lining up at quarterback and later receiver for the Rebels’ football team and patrolling center field for its baseball squad. He transferred to UCF to play quarterback again and started for two seasons for Gus Malzahn’s Knights.
The Steelers signed Plumlee as an undrafted free agent last year, giving him a chance to play signal-caller, but also moved him around to receiver, kick returner, and punt returner to make use of his athleticism. During the 2024 preseason, he paced the team with six kick returns for 145 yards. He brought back two punts for 16 yards and had a special teams tackle, as well.
Aaron Becker contributed reporting for this story.
This article originally appeared on Steelers Now: Steelers Cut Ties with Swiss Army Knife QB/WR
