Steelers Now
With breakout tight end Darnell Washington placed on the reserved/injured list with a broken left wrist, the Pittsburgh Steelers have signed versatile tight end Jaheim Bell to the practice squad. Bell, a former Florida State tight end and New England Patriots draft pick, had a tryout at UPMC Rooney Sports Complex on Tuesday, according to the NFL transactions page.
Bell is a 6-foot-2, 241-pound tight end, on the smaller side of the position and nearly the opposite of Washington’s, 6-foot-8, over 300-pond frame. But Bell is a quality athlete, positing a 35-inch vertical and a 4.61-second 40-yard dash in pre-draft testing for a Relative Athletic Score of 8.44 out of 10.
Bell also has positional versatility, having lined up as an inline tight end, slot receiver and fullback over the course of his career.
Bell spent his rookie season with New England, playing in total of 84 offensive snaps at all three positions, and he also played on four phases of special teams. He played in 15 games and made two catches for 20 yards on the season.
After spending another offseason in New England, Bell was released by the Patriots this August. He spent one week on the Philadelphia Eagles practice squad in October before being released.
The Steelers have three other tight ends on the active roster in Pat Freiermuth, Jonnu Smith and Connor Heyward, and Matt Sokol on the practice squad.
The Steelers showed interest in Bell in the pre-draft process, meeting with him at the 2024 Senior Bowl in Mobile, Alabama and then again with a formal meeting at the 2024 NFL Combine in Indianapolis.
This article originally appeared on Steelers Now: Steelers Sign Freak-Athlete Tight End after Darnell Washington Injury
