Pittsburgh Steelers announce the signing of former Falcons linebacker James Vaughters

On Tuesday, ahead of the NFL’s deadline to limit the roster to 85 players, the Pittsburgh Steelers made some moves to switch things up at linebacker. The Steelers announced the signing of former Falcons linebacker James Vaughters. In a corresponding move, the team waived Tuzar Skipper with an injury designation.

Vaughters, a former Stanford Cardinal standout, began his NFL career in 2015 as an undrafted free agent. He played several years in the CFL before playing his first NFL game for the Bears. He played 17 games for Chicago over two years then played 10 games with the Falcons in 2021.

On his career, Vaughters has 33 tackles, 2.5 sacks, and a forced fumble in 27 games played. The 6-foot-2, 255-pound linebacker is 29 years old. He played four seasons at Stanford from 2011 to 2014. His final collegiate season was his best as he posted 50 tackles with 6.5 sacks and two forced fumbles.

The Steelers are coming off of a win in their first preseason game versus the Seattle Seahawks. On Saturday, Pittsburgh travels to Jacksonville to face Doug Pederson’s Jaguars in preseason game two.

Mike Tomlin assesses Steelers quarterbacks in preseason opener

The Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback competition has been one of the more intriguing throughout the NFL this offseason. While former Chicago Bears starter Mitch Tribusky seems poised to begin his redemption tour as starter in 2022, many fans are ready for first-rounder Kenny Pickett to take the reins.

“They moved their units,” head coach Mike Tomlin said of his quarterbacks. “They did the informal things associated with the position from a leadership and communication standpoint. It was a good first time out for all three (Mason Rudolph, too). Obviously, we will comb through it tomorrow and evaluate it in that way.”

Pickett started the second half for Pittsburgh while Trubisky and Rudolph split time during the first half. Trubisky impressed in his limited showing, and Rudolph ended the first half with a respectable line of 9-of-15 passing for 93 yards.

It was Pickett that was on the field for the eventual game-winning drive. After a Seahawks fumble, the Steelers were awarded the ball tied at 25 on Seattle’s 43-yard-line with just over a minute remaining in regulation.

Pickett showed his poise, running for big gains on two different plays before tossing a 24-yard touchdown in the game’s final moments for the victory.

“He moved his group, played situational football,” Tomlin said of Pickett’s game-winning drive. “He displayed a competitive spirit. A lot of good things to build on from a first-performance standpoint.”

On3’s Barkley Truax contributed to this report.