Steelers Now
PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Steelers have re-signed inside linebacker Jacoby Windmon to their practice squad.
Windmon will help offset a pair of losses at the position for the Steelers this week, as Ja’Whaun Bentley was released and Jon Rhattigan was signed off their practice squad by the Las Vegas Raiders.
Windmon, 24, will be in his second stint, with the Steelers. He first joined the club as an undrafted free agent out of Michigan State in 2024. He was waived and re-signed to the practice squad, but ended up getting poached by the Carolina Panthers.
Windmon played in eight games and made two starts for the Panthers, recording 22 tackles, 1.5 sacks, one tackle for loss, two quarterback hits and two passes defended.
This season, he appeared in three preseason games for the Panthers, including a Week 3 contest against the Steelers. He was released in the team’s final cuts and had not re-signed elsewhere.
Windmon is a Marrero, Louisiana native who played three years at UNLV before transferring to Michigan State. He was a second-team All-Mountain West selection in 2021, when he posted his best statistical season of 119 tackles, 11.5 tackles for loss, 6.5 sacks, two forced fumbles and one pass defended.
After transferring to Michigan State, he started eight games in 2022 before being suspended the final four games after taking part in a fight between Michigan and Michigan State players in the tunnel at Michigan Stadium.
In 2023, he returned to MSU, but played just three games before being lost to the season for a pectoral injury. He had another season of college eligibility remaining, and first announced that he was entering the transfer portal, before declaring for the 2024 NFL Draft in January.
In the pre-draft process, Windmon ran a 4.65-second 40-yard dash and showed decent agility but poor explosiveness and strength, posting a low 16 bench press reps and a 5.68 out of 10 overall Relative Athletic Score. He was not expected to be drafted and was the No. 501 overall player in the NFL Mock Draft Database consensus big board.
This article originally appeared on Steelers Now: Steelers Re-Sign Hard-Hitting Inside Linebacker
