Steelers Sign former Seahawks CB Linden Stephens to Practice Squad

PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Steelers signed cornerback Linden Stephens to their practice squad on Wednesday, putting the unit at its 16-man maximum capacity

Stephens was signed a day after the Detroit Lions signed cornerback Mark Gilbert away from the Steelers’ practice squad.

Stephens, 26, has been with seven NFL teams, including two stints with the Steelers’ Week 6 opponents, the Seattle Seahawks. The 6-foot, 193-pound native of Euclid, Ohio first joined the New Orleans Saints as an undrafted free agent out of Cincinnati in 2018.

He bounced from New Orleans the Los Angeles Rams, Denver Broncos, Seahawks and Miami Dolphins before getting to play in his first NFL game in 2019. He played in three games with the Dolphins that season and made three tackles.

In 2020, he re-joined the Seahawks via waivers, and was promoted to the active roster on Sept. 23 following two weeks on the practice squad. Stephens played in 13 games for Seattle last year, playing mostly on special teams.

Stephens was with Washington this offseason, but was waived in August and joined the Baltimore Ravens practice squad. Baltimore released him on Oct. 4.

The Steelers have been playing without cornerback Cam Sutton, but he is expected to return to practice this week and had Ahkello Witherspoon as a healthy scratch, even without Sutton in the lineup, last Sunday, so Stephens does not seem likely to immediately fit into the team’s plans.