Steelers Place OT Zach Banner On IR, Sign OT Jerald Hawkins Off Texans’ PS

The Pittsburgh Steelers officially placed OT Zach Banner on injured reserve with a torn ACL on Wednesday and signed OT Jerald Hawkins off of the Texans’ practice squad.

Banner, 26, is a former fourth-round pick by the Colts in the 2017 NFL Draft. Indianapolis cut him loose at the start of his rookie season and was claimed by the Browns.

Cleveland waived him in March of 2018 and was claimed by the Panthers, but cut during spring camp. He signed with the Steelers in August of 2018 and finished out his rookie contract last season. He re-signed this offseason as a restricted free agent. 

In 2019, Banner appeared in 14 games for the Steelers and started once.

Hawkins, 26, is a former fourth-round pick out of LSU by the Steelers in the 2016 NFL Draft. He was entering the final year of a four-year, $2.87 million rookie contract and was set to earn a base salary of $720,000 when the Steelers traded him to the Buccaneers at the end of the preseason last year.

Hawkins played out his deal with the Buccaneers and entered unrestricted free agency. He signed a one-year deal with the Texans this summer but was released and signed back to the practice squad.

In 2017, Hawkins appeared in five games for the Steelers and appeared in 48 total snaps. He appeared in one game for the Buccaneers in 2019. 

Looking for the latest NFL Insider News & Rumors?

Be sure to follow NFL Trade Rumors on TWITTER and FACEBOOK for breaking NFL News and Rumors for all 32 teams!

Leave a Reply