Pittsburgh Steelers waive nose tackle from injured reserve

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.