Pittsburgh Steelers sign Jeremy McNichols to one-year contract

The release of Trey Edmunds yesterday left a spot open in the Pittsburgh Steelers running back room ahead of the season. The team didn’t take long to fill it, though. As of this morning, the Steelers announced the signing of RB Jeremy McNichols.

This move comes as Pittsburgh is scheduled to open training camp today.

We have signed RB Jeremy McNichols to a one-year contract.

To make room on the 90-man roster, we released RB Trey Edmunds. @BordasLaw

📝: https://t.co/LcuyJOvtl6 pic.twitter.com/oRfwzO2efY

— Pittsburgh Steelers (@steelers) July 26, 2022

McNichols spent the last two seasons as a dual-threat back in 30 appearances for the Tennessee Titans. He totaled 128 career touches in Nashville for 655 yards from scrimmage and two touchdowns. His other NFL stops came in 2017 with San Francisco, 2018 in Indianapolis, and 2019 in Jacksonville. Tampa Bay drafted him in 2017 out of Boise State where he finished with 4,294 yards and 55 touchdowns.

McNichols likely won’t see a big snap count with a loaded running back group in Pittsburgh. They’ll heavily feature Najee Harris while the room also features Benny Snell Jr. and rookie Mataeo Durant. Even so, McNichols will provide an extra layer of insurance in the Pittsburgh backfield.

Trey Edmunds released by the Pittsburgh Steelers

The Steelers will report to training camp on Tuesday but running back Trey Edmunds will not be amongst them. The franchise waived Edmunds just a day before Pittsburgh was set to open training camp per ESPN’s Adam Schefter.

Steelers are releasing RB/FB Trey Edmunds today, per source.

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) July 25, 2022

Edmunds totaled 22 rushes for 92 yards during his four seasons in Pittsburgh. All of that production came during the 2019 season. He played in 21 career games for the Steelers where he was mostly featured on special teams. Edmunds played one season for New Orleans where he totaled 9 rushes for 48 yards and a touchdown in 2017. He did this all after being undrafted coming off four years in college at Virginia Tech and Maryland.

Trey’s brother, Terrell Edmunds, plays safety for Pittsburgh while Tremaine Edmunds plays linebacker for the Buffalo Bills. Terrell has totaled 340 tackles and five interceptions through three seasons with the Steelers. Even so, family ties weren’t enough to keep him on the roster with a full backfield that already features Najee Harris, Benny Snell Jr., and rookie Mataeo Durant.