The Steelers brought in a small cluster of players across Thursday and Friday as Week 2 of training camp rolled on, with PennLive’s Nick Farabaugh reporting six workouts in all.
So far, only one of those tryout players has stuck. Safety Israel Mukuamu has already been signed, while the rest of the group is still waiting for a call.
Among the names that came through Pittsburgh were edge rushers Xavier Thomas and Andre Carter II, safety Donovan Wilson, and wide receivers Cornell Powell and Isaiah Winstead.
Thomas is probably the most familiar of the edge options. A fifth-round pick by the Cardinals in 2024 out of Clemson, he entered the draft with a 6.79 RAS as a sixth-year senior and 17.5 career college sacks. The catch is that he never had more than 3.5 in a single season, and in the NFL he hasn’t logged a tackle in a regular-season game since his rookie year, when he posted 2.5 sacks for Arizona.
Wilson brings a more established NFL résumé. Also a former Cowboys safety like Mukuamu, he was a sixth-round pick by Dallas in 2019 and spent much of his career under Mike McCarthy.
At 6-foot-0 and 204 pounds, he’s mainly a strong safety, and his best season came in 2022, when he piled up 101 tackles, five sacks, one interception and two passes defensed. The 31-year-old started 15 games for Dallas in 2025.
Powell is another Clemson name in the mix. He closed out his college career with 882 receiving yards and seven touchdowns before the Chiefs took him in the fifth round of the 2021 NFL Draft.
His pre-draft testing included a 7.59 RAS and a 4.53-second 40-yard dash. In the NFL, though, he has appeared in only three games, mostly as a special teamer, and he has yet to record a catch.
He also had a short stay on the Steelers’ practice squad in 2025.
In Other News...
Steelers Suddenly Have Real Doubt About Will Howards Backup Push
Will Howard came into Steelers training camp with a real chance to make the backup quarterback job interesting behind Aaron Rodgers, but the early returns have left the picture murkier. The rookie has shown enough to stay in the conversation, yet the separation many expected has not really arrived, and the competition has started to tilt toward a more familiar face as Pittsburgh keeps sorting out the depth chart.
Mason Rudolph has quietly made himself look like the steadier option for QB2, which raises the pressure on Howard as the preseason schedule starts to matter more. His next chance to change the narrative comes against Green Bay, where the Steelers will be watching closely for cleaner work on the throws that have been giving him trouble and for signs that he can force the decision a little longer. [Read more 🡒]
Steelers Camp Just Raised A Real Question About Their QB Depth
The offense at Saint Vincent College has shown some signs of settling in during recent camp work, which is at least a step in the right direction for a Steelers unit still trying to find more consistency. The line has had its own encouraging moment too, with Anderson continuing to build a case for the starting right guard job and keeping that competition alive as camp moves along.
The bigger concern, though, is what the quarterback room looks like behind the top options. A rookie has had trouble with decision-making and accuracy, and when those issues show up in camp they tend to sharpen the focus on depth and development in a hurry. Pittsburgh has time to sort through it, but these sessions have made it clear the backup picture is worth watching closely. [Read more 🡒]
Steelers Just Put Kaleb Johnson Back In A Real Roster Fight
The Steelers first offseason depth chart offered an early glimpse at how the backfield is shaping up, and it put Kaleb Johnson in a spot that should at least keep him in the conversation. After a rough rookie season, Johnson is listed as the third running back, which suggests Pittsburgh is willing to let him compete rather than bury him behind the newer faces in camp. For a player trying to reset his trajectory, thats not nothing.
Training camp and the preseason will decide whether that listing means real trust or just temporary patience. Johnson has work to do, but the fact that hes ahead of some additions gives him a fighting chance to stick on the roster. In a room where every carry can matter, the next few weeks will tell whether Pittsburgh sees enough to keep investing in him. [Read more 🡒]