COVID-19 wasn't necessarily a bad thing for all NFL players. In a nod to the roster issues that could arise during the pandemic, the NFL allowed its teams to stash more veteran players on their practice squads, thus giving those players the opportunity to continue to draw a paycheck while also staying sharp and ready to go.
One such player was safety Karl Joseph.
A first-round draft pick of the Raiders in 2016 out of West Virginia, Joseph spent his first four seasons with that team before signing as a free agent with the Browns in 2020.
Following his one season in Cleveland, Joseph re-signed with Las Vegas. But he was released at the end of training camp.
The safety position has been a strange one in recent years in the NFL with the stars getting big money deals and little to no middle class. After being released by the Raiders, Joseph could have certainly been without a team. In fact, there's a good chance that's exactly what would have happened before the NFL permitted teams to stash more veteran players on their practice squads.
Instead, Joseph and his 49 career starts wound up on the practice squad of the Steelers for the 2021 season.
"I liked the rule," Joseph said of the expanded and enhanced practice squad rules. "It gave me a chance to stay in shape and ready to go instead of sitting at home. You get a chance to keep working on your game."
Joseph, now 28, was consistently doing that in the offseason. Every day during the Steelers' offseason program, he would be on the field for nearly an hour after each practice working on his ball skills. He'd catch balls from the JUGS machine. He would work with a trainer catching passes at close range and getting his head around quickly.
After all, he appeared in just two games for the Steelers in 2021 as a game-day call up from the practice squad. In the NFL, being out of sight can mean you're also out of mind.
"I'm just working on improving my game," Joseph told me of his after-practice workouts. "You always have to be trying to improve your game at this level, working on the little things."
Joseph does have five career interceptions, but he wants to maximize those chances when he gets his hands on the football in the preseason in what has become something of a crowded safety room.
In addition to starters Minkah Fitzpatrick and Terrell Edmunds, the Steelers brought in veteran Damontae Kazee this offseason to bolster their depth, while veteran Miles Killebrew and second-year safety Tre Norwood also return.
The Steelers figure to keep at least four, but no more than five safeties.
"Whether it's here or somewhere else, I just want to show I can still play in this league," Joseph told me.
MORE STEELERS
2. To say that Justin Layne has been a disappointment would be an understatement. The 2019 third-round draft pick has yet to carve out of spot defensively for the team as he enters the final year of his rookie deal. But one thing he has done is become a valuable special teams player. Layne, who serves as a gunner on punt coverage and also plays on all of the team's kickoff coverage teams, recorded 13 tackles on special teams in 2021, tied with Ulysees Gilbert for second-most on the team behind Derek Watt's 16. That also put him in the top 10 in the NFL in special teams tackles. "I know that's a big part of my game and what's being asked of me," Layne told me. "I just try to do whatever is asked of me." That said, Layne knows this is a big year for him. The Steelers didn't re-sign Joe Haden in the offseason, but re-signed Ahkello Witherspoon and signed veteran corner Levi Wallace. With Haden gone, Layne is the Steelers' second-most tenured cornerback behind Cam Sutton. "I know, that's hard to believe," Layne said. "The time goes by quickly. I know I still have a lot to prove, and I'm looking forward to doing it." -- Lolley
3. Special teams play is often overlooked when fans are putting together a roster. But it's not when the team is doing so. After recording those 13 tackles each last season on special teams, Layne and Gilbert will be tough to push off this roster. The Steelers did bring in Gunner Olszewski, though, and he's an experienced special teams ace, as well. Having roster spots dedicated solely to players who are largely special teams contributors is something few NFL teams do. But two who definitely do are the Steelers and Patriots. -- Lolley
4. There's a saying among the media, "The other team has coaches, too." What that means is that, sometimes, coaches have to try to show how smart they rather than just sticking with what was working. Witness the Steelers' game last season against the Vikings. The Vikings were running all over the Steelers to the tune of 176 yards as they built a 23-0 lead. Then, in the second half, they kept throwing. "Yeah, I don't know what we were doing there," said former Vikings offensive linemen Mason Cole, signed by the Steelers in free agency. "We had been running the ball so well. Then we just decided to start throwing the ball, and it nearly cost us the game." The game ended with the Steelers throwing the ball into the end zone down 36-28. -- Lolley
5. Cole was asked if that game was a big reason why the Steelers signed him in the offseason. He had a good game working against Montravius Adams. "I'm sure that didn't hurt," Cole said. The Vikings created some massive holes in that game, especially in the first half. -- Lolley
6. If there was any question regarding how the Steelers intend to use Larry Ogunjobi, his salary cap hit should dispel any of those. Ogunjobi's $8-million hit ($1.535 million in base salary and $6.465 million in signing bonus) gives him the fourth-highest cap hit on the roster behind only T.J. Watt, Cam Heyward and Fitzpatrick. -- Lolley
7. The Steelers signed defensive tackle Doug Costin earlier this week, replacing Daniel Archibong, who was placed on the retired list recently. Some have wondered why the team didn't sign a player at another position where perhaps some depth was needed. After all, Costin gives the team 11 defensive linemen in camp. They usually keep six. But Ogunjobi is returning from a foot injury, while Tyson Alualu is 35 and Heyward is now 33. The team will definitely want to manage the snaps of those three in training camp, especially in the first two weeks. Mike Tomlin is one of the few coaches who has live tackling at his camp practices. Live tackle will take place the first two weeks before the team's first preseason game. -- Lolley
PIRATES
8. The two reports I got on first-round draft pick Termarr Johnson, one from a scout and one from an analyst, were remarkably similar. He might not stick up the middle. There is a bit more risk associated with him than Jackson Holliday and Druw Jones, the first two picks in the draft. But wow, that hit tool. Make no mistake, if he clicks it’s going to be the bat. Coincidentally, DK and I both got the same player comp for him this week talking to people in the industry: He reminds people of Andrew McCutchen. -- Alex Stumpf
9. I said this during the night of the draft, but it needs repeated here: Pittsburgh is really going to like Johnson. He's got the right skill set, work ethic and attitude to become a favorite. -- Stumpf
10. College players aren’t normally considered as projectable as high schoolers, but right-hander Thomas Harrington could be the rare older player who grows into some more velocity. The Compensation Round A pick has one of the most fluid motions directly towards home of this draft and doesn’t waste a lot of potential energy. He already has a good looking changeup and a high spin slider. The curveball is lagging behind in his development, but if he can add a few ticks to his fastball velocity to get it closer to the mid-90s, then he looks like a major-league starter. -- Stumpf
11. I asked a National League analyst if they had a sleeper in this year’s Pirates class. They said ninth-round pick Mike Walsh. The right-hander's fastball didn’t excite them, but they think his slider is nasty and that he could throw it about 70% of the time. (He threw it about 50% of the time this year at Yale.) He struggled as a starter, but I’m told he could click as a middle reliever. -- Stumpf
12. On the flip side, the same analyst gave a pretty negative review on second-round pick Hunter Barco. The left-hander was labeled as a higher floor guy by Baseball America, but the analyst was skeptical about that, not even factoring in his Tommy John surgery. The Pirates have liked him since he was a high schooler, and he seemed to take strides this year before the surgery. But for a second round pick, I'm told that's a reach. -- Stumpf
13. The Pirates drafted two-way player Jack Brannigan in the third round. When I asked about him, basically every note I got about him was as a pitcher. The Pirates will develop him as a hitter first and put his pitching development on hold. For what it’s worth, the pitching notes I got on him were pretty favorable. -- Stumpf
14. David Bednar was a busy man during the All-Star game media availability. Good to see that he wasn’t just the Pirates representative there. People around the game wanted to get to know him. -- Stumpf
15. I meant what I put in my first Bednar article from Los Angeles. I’ve had someone with knowledge of Bednar’s situation suggest a long-term extension would be a good fit for him. Relievers are the most volatile position, so I don’t know if the Pirates will explore that option anytime soon -- especially since Bednar has four years of team control remaining after this one -- but the same source brought up a Ke’Bryan Hayes contract extension a couple years before it actually happened, too. I don’t think it would be a shock to see it explored at some point. -- Stumpf
PENGUINS
16. Evgeni Malkin spent some time in Florida after the season ended but he has since returned to Russia and has been working out and skating in Moscow. There have been concerns about Russian players in their home country this summer -- Minnesota's Kirill Kaprizov has twice been turned away at the U.S. border (potentially due to a work visa issue) and Flyers goaltending prospect Ivan Fedotov was sent to a remote military base in northern Russia shortly after announcing that he would be leaving his Russian club to compete for a roster spot on the Flyers this coming season. Teams would obviously prefer that their Russian players remain here in the U.S., but there's not much that they can do to enforce that. It's worth noting though that unlike Kaprizov, Malkin has been a U.S. citizen since 2019 (his son Nikita is a U.S. citizen as well) so obtaining a work visa is not a concern in this case. -- Taylor Haase at PPG Paints Arena
17. I'll have more on the coming upgrades in a separate story soon, but I can tell you now that PPG Paints Arena is getting a number of new upgrades as the new ownership group and new management company takes over operations. President of business operations Kevin Acklin told me that includes a new videoboard, new LED lights throughout the arena, and the technology needed for full on-ice projections. The team doesn't have a set date yet on when these upgrades will be completed, just that they will be "phased in," rather than coming all at once. -- Haase
18. If you've read anything I've written on Wilkes-Barre/Scranton in the last two years, you know that I've been saying Felix Robert is deserving of an NHL contract for awhile now. He was Wilkes-Barre's No. 2-leading scorer this past season and wasn't even Pittsburgh property, he was on an AHL contract with Wilkes-Barre. He finally did get his well-deserved NHL contract on the first day of free agency ... with Tampa Bay. I was told that the Penguins did indeed extend an offer for an NHL contract to Robert this offseason but he chose to sign with Tampa. -- Haase
19. Even after change of ownership and an entirely new front office at the helm, the Penguins’ organizational culture hasn’t changed a bit. This was abundantly clear at development camp. Although I wasn’t on the inside, I’ve witnessed several development camps in Columbus and the feeling didn’t even compare to what I witnessed in Cranberry last week. The Penguins’ pedigree wears off on their prospects. From going into the locker room and seeing the same stall Sidney Crosby sits at, to having the likes of Brian Burke and the entire coaching staff meandering and connecting with them, every single prospect got a taste of what a winning environment looks like. -- Danny Shirey in Cranberry, Pa.
20. Newly-acquired Jeff Petry is already in town after making the four-hour drive from Ann Arbor, Mich. with his wife this week, checking out the facilities and the area. -- Haase
21. Hold off on buying those Drew O'Connor jerseys, folks. I heard he's considering a number change. He's worn No. 10 since turning pro. No. 18 seems like a likely choice, as he wore that number in college. -- Haase
