Steelers set to land with another sensational WR ahead of trade deadline from Jaguars
Pittsburgh continues to play musical chairs at receiver
On Friday, the Pittsburgh Steelers announced that they’ve signed WR Jacob Copeland to a one-year contract. This comes on the heels of the release of WR Denzel Mims earlier this week.
Copeland spent time at both Maryland and Florida in his college career – and we’re all aware by now how much the Steelers like their Maryland prospects given the ties to Mike Tomlin. Tomlin’s son Dino Tomlin was on the Terrapins from 2019-to 2021.
It’s difficult to gauge how much the Steelers like Copeland, who will enter his second year after signing a UDFA contract with the Tennessee Titans last year. This is now his third stint with the black and gold. He signed a practice squad contract in September of last year and was released in early October. He rejoined the squad once more in late November and the team cut bait in early December. Hence the question about their attraction to the pass-catcher.
Mims’ release caused quite the stir around the Steel City, given the Steelers’ rumored interest in San Francisco 49ers star WR Brandon Aiyuk.
It may not be the veteran contributor that Steelers fans would prefer to see, but the team added some depth today at the wide receiver position, signing Jacob Copeland, according to Steelers.com writer Teresa Varley. Aaron Williams of KPRC 2 adds that the team was also awarded defensive tackle Willington Previlon off of waivers after he was waived from Atlanta.
Copeland went undrafted a year ago after a five-year playing career at Florida and Maryland. Copeland originally signed with the Gators as a consensus top-100 recruit in the nation. He spent his first three years in Gainesville buried on the depth chart under names like Kadarius Toney and Kyle Pitts but proved to be an effective deep threat, averaging 18.9 yards per reception in his redshirt sophomore season with 435 yards and three touchdowns on only 23 receptions.
With Toney and Pitts (and quarterback Kyle Trask) gone in 2021, Copeland finally got to lead the room, tying for the team-lead in receptions (41) and receiving touchdowns (4) while leading the school with 642 receiving yards. Copeland made the decision to transfer for his redshirt senior season, opting to join the Terrapins in College Park. At Maryland, Copeland failed to make the same impact on the offense, finishing fourth on the team with 376 receiving yards to go along with 26 catches and two touchdowns, though he did lead the team with 14.5 yards per reception.
After signing initially with the Titans as an undrafted free agent, Copeland has spent short stints of time with the Vikings, Steelers, and Chiefs. He’ll now return for a second try with Pittsburgh.
Previlon has been floating around the NFL a little longer than Copeland after going undrafted in 2020. The former Rutgers big man was disruptive for the Scarlet Knights, totaling three sacks and 10.5 tackles for loss in his final two collegiate seasons. He’s bounced around since then, spending time with the Packers, Buccaneers, Cowboys, and Falcons before getting claimed by Pittsburgh.
