The Pittsburgh Steelers have had a busy week of tryouts and visits this week, with 11 total players coming in on Tuesday. To follow that up, they had four more in on Wednesday, per the NFL transaction sheet.
LB Ronnie Perkins, LB Isaiah Thomas, DE Casey Toohill, and LB Oshane Ximines all came to Pittsburgh for a tryout.
Perkins joined the league in 2021 as a third-round pick by the New England Patriots. Since then, he’s only suited up for seven games all in 2023 for the Denver Broncos. He was most recently a member of the Atlanta Falcons, but was released from their practice squad in early September.
Perkins weighed in at 6023, 253 pounds with 32 7/8-inch arms at his Oklahoma Pro Day in 2021. He also ran a 4.71-second 40-yard dash.
Thomas was a seventh-round pick by the Cleveland Browns in 2022. He has appeared in 12 games since then, between 2022 and 2024. He also spent time with the Cincinnati Bengals and Detroit Lions. The Lions released him from the practice squad in September shortly after the season began.
Thomas weighed in at 6050, 265 pounds with 33 1/2-inch arms at the 2022 combine. He ran a 4.7-second 40-yard dash and put up 23 reps on the bench press.
Toohill entered the league as a seventh-round pick of the Philadelphia Eagles in 2020. He didn’t last long with them and was claimed off waivers by the Washington Commanders in his rookie season. He was on the Houston Texans’ roster until cutdowns in late August. He has appeared in 71 games throughout his career with 15 total starts. He has 100 career tackles and eight sacks.
Toohill weighed in at 6043, 250 pounds with 33 1/2-inch arms at the 2020 combine and ran a 4.56-second 40-yard dash with a 39-inch vertical.
Ximines was a third-round pick by the New York Giants in 2019, and he made it through his full rookie contract there. He re-signed as a practice squad player after his rookie contract was up and eventually made his way to the Patriots for the 2024 season. He hasn’t been rostered since March. Appearing in 50 games with nine starts in his career, he has 72 total tackles and 6.5 sacks with one forced fumble and nine tackles for loss.
Ximines weighed in at 6037, 256 pounds with 33-inch arms at the 2019 combine. He ran a 4.75-second 40-yard dash and put up 24 reps on the bench press.
These visits come while Nick Herbig is dealing with a hamstring injury and T.J. Watt is dealing with a punctured lung that required surgery. Both could return this week, but the Steelers appear to be sifting through the veteran free-agent market in case of an emergency.