The Pittsburgh Steelers are signing former New England Patriots wide receiver T.J. Luther, as first reported by Alan Saunders of Steelers Now and confirmed to PennLive. As a corresponding move, the Steelers waived/injured wide receiver Tarik Black after he suffered a hamstring injury on Sunday.
The Steelers hosted Luther for a tryout two weeks ago, and now with the injury to Black, he will get an opportunity to show what he can do in training camp.
Luther focuses very specifically on kickoffs in his past. The Gardner-Webb product was undrafted in the 2023 NFL Draft and has spent time with the Patriots and New York Jets. The Jets were the team that snapped him up as an undrafted free agent.
Luther spent time on the Patriots practice squad during the season but he did not make it out of the team’s OTAs, as the Patriots cut him in June. He spent the last few months trying out for teams ahead of training camp, and now gets his break to join the Steelers after Black suffered an injury.
Luther was First-team All-Big South in 2022, posting over 1000 yards at Gardner-Webb. In addition to a productive final year, the 5-foot-11 receiver came out with solid testing numbers, running a 4.50 40-yard dash. He projects as a player who can play inside or outside and join the kick and punt return lines over the next few weeks.
