Report: Pittsburgh Steelers to sign away free agent from Jaguars

The Pittsburgh Steelers are looking to sign free agent receiver Anthony Miller following the Jacksonville Jaguars attempt and near-success at signing him earlier in the day. It was believed that Miller would sign with the Jaguars’ practice squad and he even tweeted about it over the weekend. But with a spot open on the Steelers 53-man roster, it appears as if the receiver is headed to the Steel city, according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport.

The Steelers lose Smith-Schuster

This move comes after the Pittsburgh Steelers’ lost wideout Juju Smith-Schuster in Sunday’s win at home against the Denver Broncos. Smith-Schuster left the game in the second quarter after taking a hit to his right shoulder from Broncos safety Kareem Jackson. It was revealed later that he suffered a dislocated shoulder and is likely to undergo surgery later this week. That surgery is expected to have him out of commission for about four months according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter. The amount of time he will be out will essentially end his 2021 season.

Miller started off this season with the Houston Texans after being traded in the offseason. He was dealt by the Chicago Bears to the Texans along with a 2022 seventh-round pick for a fifth-round pick. In Chicago, he drew the ire of team officials after being ejected from their wild-card playoff loss last year to the New Orleans Saints. In that game, Miller was ejected for hitting Saints corner CJ Gardner-Johnson. Miller was originally drafted by the Chicago Bears in the second round of the 2018 draft out of Memphis University.

Miller after Chicago

While with the Houston Texans, he appeared in just two games and didn’t make much of an impact. Over the two games, he had five catches for 23 yards and caught one touchdown. Unfortunately for Miller, he found himself on the chopping block for the Texans and was released last week. When Houston Texans head coach David Culley was asked about the receiver’s dismissal, he pointed to the return of receiver Danny Amendola. With Amendola returning it didn’t make sense to the Texans to keep Miller, who they use in the slot, on the roster if he was not going to be active weekly.

For his career, the Miller has primarily been used as a slot receiver, and during that time the 5-foot-11 receiver has a total of 139 catches for 1,587 yards and 12 touchdowns. In his years in Chicago, he also added in nine rushes for 37 yards and one touchdown.

With the Pittsburgh Steelers already down Smith-Schuster and currently struggling to run the ball, it makes sense for them to bring in more help at the wide receiver position. Not only that but Miller is a dangerous athlete in space. And with the number of short routes the Steelers are currently using, he could turn some of those short passes into big plays for Pittsburgh.