The Pittsburgh Steelers are coming off arguably their most impressive defensive performance of the season. But that didn’t stop them from further bolstering their unit with some familiar faces this week.
The Steelers reunited with linebacker Mark Robinson and also signed former Penn State defensive back Daequan Hardy to their practice squad.
Robinson, a seventh-round pick of the Steelers at the 2022 NFL Draft, spent three games with the Jets this season and has two tackles. He spent his first three seasons with the Steelers, accruing one sack, 45 tackles and three forced fumbles in 38 games in Pittsburgh.
Hardy, a sixth-round pick of the Buffalo Bills at the 2024 NFL Draft, has not played an NFL game yet.
Pittsburgh is coming off a 27-20 victory over the AFC-leading Indianapolis Colts. The Steelers allowed just 313 offensive yards — and a season-low 55 on the ground against the NFL rushing leader Jonathan Taylor — and sacked quarterback Daniel Jones five times at Acrisure Stadium.
Mark Robinson Is Back With The Steelers
Robinson’s best days came in a Steelers uniform, but the reserve EDGE rusher eschewed the chance to remain on the Pittsburgh practice squad after the team released him as part of its final cuts in August.
The Steelers chose rookie Carson Bruener over Robinson, who decided to sign with the New England Patriots practice squad. After three games with the Patriots, where he posted three tackles and played 50 percent of the team’s special-teams snaps, the New York Jets plucked him from their practice squad and suited him up for 58 special-teams snaps and four defensive snaps in three games.
But Robinson was available after the Jets waived him Oct. 18.
Like his tenure with the Patriots and Jets, most of Robinson’s play came on special teams in Pittsburgh. He played 603 special-teams snaps in 2023 and 2024, compared to 159 on defense over those two years.
Still, Robinson is a reliable tackler, since he has just a 2.0 missed-tackle percentage over his career. Despite failing to post enough tackles to rank on Pro Football Focus’ linebacker rankings, Robinson has earned a 74.0 grade from PFF this year.
The Pittsburgh Steelers Released Two Players In Corresponding Moves
Naturally, the Steelers had to offload a pair of players to make room for Robinson and Hardy on their practice squad.
They cut journeyman defensive end K.J. Henry and wide receiver John Rhys Plumlee. Henry, who is in his fourth NFL season, had not played a game with Pittsburgh but has 2.5 sacks and 22 tackles and five tackles for loss in 14 NFL games with the Washington Commanders, Cincinnati Bengals and Dallas Cowboys.
Plumlee is a converted quarterback who landed back on the Steelers practice squad last week. Plumlee, who was cut by the Seattle Seahawks in August, was trying to play the Slash role — akin to that of early-career Kordell Stewart.
But Plumlee has not yet played a regular-season NFL game since leaving the University of South Florida after the the 2023 college-football season. This was Plumlee’s second stint on the Steelers practice squad, since they signed him as a free agent after he went unselected at the 2024 NFL Draft.
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