Steelers Now
The Pittsburgh Steelers are elevating linebacker Jon Rhattigan from the practice squad to the active roster for Sunday’s game against the Seattle Seahawks. Rhattigan played for the Seahawks from 2021-2023.
Rhattigan will fill in for linebacker Malik Harrison on special teams. Harrison was placed on the injured reserve list on Wednesday after suffering an injury during the team’s Week 1 game against the New York Jets. Head coach Mike Tomlin did not announce a further prognosis for Harrison on Tuesday, other than ruling him out for the team’s Week 2 home opener against the Seahawks.
Now that Harrison has been placed on injured reserve, he must miss at least four games, and will not be eligible to be re-instated until Week 7, as the Steelers have a Week 5 bye.
Harrison played on four snaps of defense and 16 snaps of special teams for the Steelers in the opener against the Jets. He recorded two tackles, one on the opening kickoff of the season.
Rhattigan, a West Point alum, has played four seasons in the NFL, splitting them between the Seahawks and the Carolina Panthers.
The 6-foot, 236 pound Army product joined the Seahawks as an undrafted free agent in 2021. He was waived coming out of training camp, but he was re-signed to the practice squad and then quickly elevated to Seattle’s active roster.
Rhattigan played in 14 games as a rookie, with all of his 250 snaps coming on special teams. He recorded 10 tackles and recovered a fumble.
An injury in January 2022 prematurely ended his rookie season and also cost him most of the 2022 season, limiting him to just five games after being active from the PUP list on Dec. 10.
Rhattigan then played in all 17 games for the Seahawks in 2023, getting his first playing time on defense, as well as being a special teams regular. He played 301 snaps of special teams, working on all four kickoff and punt phases.
Waived coming out of training camp by Seattle in 2024, Rhattigan was claimed by the Carolina Panthers. He appeared in 16 games for the Panthers last season, setting a career high with 370 snaps. He was a five-phase special teamer for Carolina, also working on the field goal block unit.
Rhattigan played in all three preseason games for the Panthers this summer, including against the Steelers in Week 3. He was released in the final round of cuts in late August.
Alan Saunders and Aaron Becker contributed reporting for this story.
This article originally appeared on Steelers Now: Steelers Elevate Linebacker for Seahawks Game
