Overview

• ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported Monday that Pittsburgh is signing Raheem Blackshear to its practice squad.
• The 26-year-old averages 26.3 yards per kickoff return and 8.7 yards per punt return over 41 NFL games with Carolina.
• Pittsburgh has shuffled returners after Kaleb Johnson’s Week 2 mistake and a shoulder injury expected to sideline Calvin Austin.
• Trey Sermon has already been elevated twice for return duty and has one elevation left, prompting the search for a specialist.
• Blackshear entered the league as a 2022 undrafted free agent and spent time with the Bills, Panthers, and Titans, who released him from their practice squad on Sept. 29; he also provides backfield insurance.