Steelers Shuffle Safeties on 90-Man Roster

The Pittsburgh Steelers made the biggest news of the day on Thursday when they signed quarterback Aaron Rodgers to a one-year deal. At long last, the offseason’s quarterback search is over. For better or worse, those plans are final, and the speculation can be put to rest.

However, it wasn’t their only move of the day. On the march to cutdown day, the Steelers will keep trying to find the right combination of 53 players and potential practice squad additions. That continued on Thursday when they made a new signing.

Pittsburgh signed safety Quindell Johnson. In a corresponding move, the Steelers cut veteran defensive back Joshua Bledsoe.

Bledsoe was a 2021 sixth-round pick by the New England Patriots, but he didn’t play in his rookie season, spending much of the year on the reserve list before an injured reserve placement in December.

In 2022, he saw his most action, appearing in three games and registering a single tackle. He also played a handful of snaps on special teams. A year later, still with the Patriots, he played in just one game.

Bledsoe was released before the 2024 season but found a new home with the United Football League’s San Antonio Brahmas.

At 5-11, 204, Bledsoe is undersized for the position and may not have the special-teams chops to stay afloat wherever he lands next.

Like Bledsoe, Johnson also didn’t play in the NFL in 2024. He saw his NFL action, and even intercepted a pass, in his nine games with the Chicago Bears. After going undrafted in the 2023 NFL Draft, Johnson has made brief cameos on the rosters/practice squads of the Los Angeles Rams and San Francisco 49ers.

There may be a little more upside to unpack with Johnson, as he is an above-average athlete with strong testing numbers.

In either event Johnson is a long shot to make the roster, and will have to prove himself on special teams this summer to try and separate himself. Pittsburgh isn’t terribly deep in the secondary, but a practice squad placement (if anything) is his path to sticking around.