Former Pittsburgh Steelers NFL Draft pick Derwin Gray has found his latest football home. The team's seventh-round pick in the 2019 NFL Draft has signed with the Canadian Football League, inking a deal with the British Columbia Lions. This is his first run in the CFL.
Gray joined the Steelers as a young piece with plenty of upside late in the 2019 NFL Draft. A depth piece behind Roman Foster and Matt Feiler, Gray was viewed as a potential candidate to one day replace either of them as a starter.
That dream didn't last long for the Steelers, as they waived him during the 2020 season. He was then claimed by the Jacksonville Jaguars, He last played in the NFL in 2022 as a member of the Tennessee Titans.
Gray recently opened up about his struggles in Pittsburgh and how then-offensive line coach Shaun Sarratt wasn't providing the proper coaching for him to succeed.
"I really appreciated me being with an older line such as Maurkice Pouncey,"Gray said during an interview with Strive Sports Productions. "Shoutout to Ramon Foster. I still look at Ramon Foster as one of my mentors. David DeCastro, Alejandro Villanueva, Matt Feiler. We had B.J. Finney, he was a backup. We had J.C. Hassenaur. We had guys that were there before me that did a really good job of training me to understand the maturity.
"No disrespect to Shaun Sarrett in Pittsburgh but I feel like I didn't learn as much from him. He was an o-line coach but I feel like I really didn't get the coaching I deserved and needed to learn. I really leanred it from my counterparts. My guys like Pouncey and Ramon Foster. Those guys really helped me come along."
He'll now get a shot at becoming a name within the CFL, looking to continue his football journey and establish himself as he fights to get on the field.
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