The Pittsburgh Steelers have signed cornerback Tre Flowers to the 53-man roster, the team announced Thursday. Flowers will add cornerback depth while fill the roster spot left by WR DK Metcalf, who was placed on the Reserve/Suspended list on Tuesday to serve his two-game suspension following his fan altercation last Sunday.
He will wear No. 23 for the team.
Flowers fits the mold of the big cornerback Pittsburgh likes to roster. Standing in at over 6’3 and 202 pounds with nearly 34-inch arms during his pre-draft process, the Seattle Seahawks drafted him in the fifth round of the 2018 NFL Draft. For his career, he’s appeared in 97 games with 44 starts. He’s recorded four interceptions, though three of them came in 2019. Flowers has a strong special teams background of nearly 1,200 total snaps.
He has experience playing inside and outside cornerback.
He most recently spent time with the Detroit Lions, appearing in two games earlier this year. He logged 12 defensive snaps and did not register on the stat sheet. The Lions waived him on December 1. A journeyman, he’s appeared for several other teams including the Atlanta Falcons, Cincinnati Bengals, and Jacksonville Jaguars.
Pittsburgh had a Pro Day dinner with him at Oklahoma State ahead of the draft. At the time, Flowers played safety. The Steelers ultimately selected two other Cowboys from that class, QB Mason Rudolph and WR James Washington, but have now united with Flowers.
Flowers will offer depth to a Pittsburgh roster that has been light at cornerback. Jalen Ramsey was forced to slide down from safety to the slot after Brandin Echols injured his groin against the Detroit Lions. Echols failed to practice yesterday and his status for Week 17 is in question. James Pierre is also still recovering from a calf injury that’s caused him to miss the last two games. Pierre practiced in limited fashion Wednesday.
Prior to Flowers’ signing, the only other true cornerbacks on the 53 man roster were Joey Porter Jr., Asante Samuel Jr, Echols and Pierre. Last week, Pittsburgh elevated CB Daryl Porter Jr. from the practice squad. He logged one snap.
Flowers could dress immediately for the team, especially as an Echols replacement on special teams. And if the Steelers have clinched the No. 4 seed ahead of their final two games, Flowers could even see some defensive snaps to close out the regular season.
