Former Pittsburgh Steelers safety Tre Norwood is signing with the Birmingham Stallions of the United Football League, the league announced on Friday. This is the first time that Norwood has resurfaced since joining the Buffalo Bills in 2023.

However, Norwood has not been in an NFL training camp this year and has seemingly drawn little interest from teams, which has left him no choice but to pursue to the UFL as an alternative.

Norwood, the Pittsburgh Steelers’ seventh-round draft pick in 2021, stayed with the team from 2021 to 2022 as one of their reserve safeties and special teamers. However, a calf injury during the team’s 2023 training camp doomed Norwood’s roster spot.

Instead, Norwood was released and joined the San Francisco 49ers’ practice squad. Later, he would try out for several teams before joining the Bills. Yet, the Bills did not renew his contract at the season’s end, making him a free agent.

Norwood, 25, has 61 tackles and one interception in hi career. Throughout his NFL career, Norwood has made his name off making plays with his football IQ rather than athleticism. At 5-foot-11 with a 4.57 40-yard dash, Norwood never had elite size or athleticism and made up for it with his versatility and football IQ. Now, he hopes those same qualities will get him back into the NFL, potentially after showing out in the UFL.

PITTSBURGH — As the Pittsburgh Steelers await a resolution regarding their pursuit of Brandon Aiyuk, it appears that a member of their wide receiver room will return from an injury sooner rather than later.

Steelers Insider Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette joined the Steve Jones Show on Thursday and discussed Roman Wilson’s recovery from a sprained ankle, stating that he expects the rookie to play in the team’s final preseason game on August 24 against the Detroit Lions as he gets back up to speed.

“He hurt his ankle, nothing serious, but he’ll probably be back for the last preseason game,” Dulac said. “He hasn’t had the chance to play yet.”

Wilson suffered the injury during Pittsburgh’s first padded practice of training camp on July 30. His ankle was rolled up on during an end-around play, causing him to leave the field under his own power before eventually riding a cart back to the team’s facility for further examination.

Wilson initially wore both a boot and ankle brace after the incident occurred, though he has now shed both and has appeared at every practice since despite not participating.

Dulac added that the Steelers are impressed by what they have seen from Wilson thus far, comparing him to a franchise legend.

“They really like him,” Dulac said. “He’s a Hines Ward-type player. He loves contact, he’s not afraid to block, he makes contested catches.”

Wilson was a third-round pick of the Steelers in the 2023 NFL Draft at pick No. 84 overall. He spent four seasons at the University of Michigan, where he tallied 1,707 career receiving yards and 20 touchdowns on 107 catches while helping the Wolverines win the College Football Playoff National Championship last season.

Wilson, who stands at 5-foot-10, is a prototypical slot receiver that profiles as a route-running savant with strong hands and above-average athleticism. Calvin Austin III is currently in line for more snaps out of the slot, though Wilson should still see his fair share of playing time within a position group that also currently includes George Pickens, Van Jefferson and Quez Watkins on the outside.

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The Pittsburgh Steelers have waived nose tackle Breiden Fehoko from injured reserve with an injury settlement after they placed him on injured reserve with a shoulder injury. If Fehoko had not been removed from injured reserve, he would have been out for the season.

Now, Fehoko will become a free agent, and once he recovers from his shoulder injury, he will be free to sign anywhere. He must wait the duration of his injury settlement and three more weeks until he could return to the Steelers. That would be well into the regular season, but it is always an option.

Fehoko, who the team signed as depth at nose tackle, was with the Steelers for all of 2023 on the team’s practice squad. He was called up for one game but did not log a snap. Pittsburgh re-signed him in March, and he hoped to push for a roster spot.

However, now the Steelers will move forward without Fehoko around. They signed Marquiss Spencer to help replace him on the defensive line, but with injuries along the defensive line, multiple players have stepped up into bigger roles, such as DeMarvin Leal.

Fehoko came into the NFL in 2020 as an undrafted free agent out of LSU, and he made his first team with the Los Angeles Chargers. After multiple seasons with the Chargers as a run-plugging nose tackle, Fehoko signed with the Steelers in 2023.