Pittsburgh Steelers sign former Pitt RB Ray Graham
By Matt Shetler
The Pittsburgh Steelers made a minor move on Tuesday involving a familiar name.
After working him out on Tuesday, the Steelers signed former Pitt running back Ray Graham to their practice squad.
December 1, 2012; Tampa, FL, USA; Pittsburgh Panthers running back Ray Graham (1) reacts after he scored a touchdown against the South Florida Bulls during the second half at Raymond James Stadium. Pittsburgh Panthers defeated the South Florida Bulls 27-3. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
Graham was an undrafted free agent who began the season on the Houston Texans’ practice squad before being added to the 53-man roster because of injuries.
He was released Friday after the Texans claimed outside linebacker Ricky Sapp on waivers from the Jets.
While at Pitt, Graham ran for 3,271 yards and 32 touchdowns in four seasons as a Panther. Last season he gained 1,042 yards and ran for 11 touchdowns. He also had four touchdowns as a receiver.
In a corresponding move, running back George Winn was released from the practice squad to make room for Graham.
Graham tore his ACL midway through the Panthers’ 2011 season, but rebounded with a decent 2012 campaign. Still, the knee injury likely hurt his draft stock coming out of college.
He has yet to play in an NFL game and likely won’t this year with the Steelers. Clearly any interest in Graham is for a practice squad spot and possibly a future contract.
Even though the Steelers’ running game has struggled for most of the season, it would be highly unlikely he would be promoted to the active roster ahead of Le’Veon Bell, Felix Jones or Jonathan Dwyer.