With their receiving corps banged up and their return game in need of a potential spark, the Steelers made a move Monday, pulling off a trade with the Raiders for Ryan Switzer.
Switzer, 23, is in his second season after spending his rookie year in Dallas, where he was a fourth-round draft pick in 2017. The Steelers sent a fifth-round pick to Oakland, getting Oakland's sixth-round pick back in the deal, as well.
The Steelers expect Switzer to be in Pittsburgh Tuesday and play in Thursday's preseason finale at Heinz Field against the Panthers.
"He's a dual return man and slot receiver of note," Mike Tomlin said. "He's a guy we evaluated prior to the draft. He was at UNC; caught a lot of balls on offense and was a dangerous return man over the course of his career. We'll put him in the mix with these guys and hopefully get him ready to go on Thursday night."
This marks the second time in the past six months Switzer has been traded. Dallas sent him to Oakland in April in exchange for defensive lineman Jihad Ward.
Switzer caught six passes for 41 yards as a rookie for the Cowboys, also averaging 8.8 yards per punt return and 25.0 yards per kickoff attempt.
A former North Carolina star, Switzer had seven career punt returns for touchdowns in his college career, including five as a freshman in 2013. Switzer had 99 career punt returns for the Tar Heels.
I’d rather everything go according to God’s plan than my own. One step closer to finding a home. Excited to be in Pittsburgh!
— Ryan Switzer (@Switz) August 27, 2018
The Steelers had a need for a return man, particularly on punts. The Steelers would prefer not to use Antonio Brown on punt returns, and the player he split time with doing it last year, Eli Rogers, is not guaranteed to make the roster.
Rogers was suspended for one game by the NFL last week for violation of the league's substance abuse policy and has still not practiced with the team this year after re-signing at the start of training camp. Rogers suffered a torn ACL late in the team's 45-42 playoff loss to Jacksonville on Jan. 14.
He is a candidate to open the season on the PUP List, which would mean he would be out at least the first six weeks of the season.
In the meantime, the Steelers have tried former Pitt star Quadree Henderson and cornerback Cameron Sutton as punt returners the past two preseason games with mixed results.
Henderson has returned two punts for an average of 7.0 yards while also calling for three fair catches, while Sutton has two returns for 15 yards, but also had a fumble Saturday against Tennessee. Henderson left school a year early and went undrafted, signing with the Steelers as a rookie free agent. Now, he might be on his way out of Pittsburgh altogether. NFL teams must cut their rosters from 90 to 53 players this Saturday.
"I still feel like I made the right choice," Henderson told me Monday. "I don't question the choice at all. I made my decision. There's no looking back. It wasn't difficult. I talked to (Pitt coach Pat) Narduzzi. I talked to my mom and dad. I took a lot of hours to think about it."
The trade also might signal the team is concerned about the availability of second-round draft pick James Washington. Washington, who has been one of the stars of the preseason, left the game against the Titans with an abdominal injury.
This is the second time this year the Steelers and Raiders have made a trade involving a wide receiver. On the opening day of the NFL draft, the Steelers shipped disgruntled receiver Martavis Bryant to Oakland for a third-round pick.
To make room on the roster for Switzer, who has been assigned No. 18, the Steelers released receiver Justin Thomas.
