The Pittsburgh Steelers have invited former Tennessee Titans defensive tackle Jayden Peevy to minicamp on a tryout basis.
PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Steelers have invited defensive lineman Jayden Peevy to their minicamp on a tryout basis.
Peevy, 24, is a 6-foot-5, 308-pound defensive tackle from Bellaire, Texas entering his third professional season. Peevy originally joined the Tennessee Titans as an undrafted free agent out of Texas A&M in 2022.
As a rookie, Peevy was cut coming out of training camp and spent most of the season on the practice squad before being elevated to the active roster for Week 17 game against the Dallas Cowboys. He re-signed with the club for 2023 on a future contract, and made the initial roster coming out of training camp, but was released after playing one game. He was re-signed to the practice squad, but cut on Oct. 9. Peevy spent the rest of the season on the practice squad of the Carolina Panthers, and signed with the Cleveland Browns on a future contract for the 2024 season, but was waived on June 7.
Peevy told Steelers Now that things came together quickly for him to be invited to minicamp.
“I got the call [Monday] night around 7 o’clock. I got on the next flight out from Nashville. Came here to just try to show who Jayden Peevy is. I feel like they’ve given me a great opportunity and I’m coming to perform.”
Peevy said he grew up a Steelers fan from his time playing in little league, and said that even though he was a safety, he idolized Troy Polamalu growing up. He called the opportunity to come to Pittsburgh “a blessing.”
“I’ve been a Pittsburgh Steelers fan all my life,” Peevy said. “My little league team was the Steelers. I had my whole room done with Steelers. I walked into the building and it was just a shock and a blessing from God.”
For the Titans, Peevy played all along the defensive line, from nose tackle out to edge rusher. The Steelers are trying him at defensive end in their base defense, along with various other alignments. They don’t have an obvious need for another rotational defensive lineman, but Peevy gives the team an even number of bodies in camp, with four full three-man units available on the depth chart.
At Texas A&M, Peevy was a two-year starter in 2020 and 2021, recording 7.5 career sacks and 20 tackles for loss. His best season came as a redshirt senior in 2021, when he racked up 43 tackles, seven tackles for loss, two sacks, an interception, a forced fumble and three passes defended.
Peevy did not test well in the pre-draft process, running a 5.3-second 40-yard dash, posting a 27-inch vertical and an 8-foot-4 broad jump for an overall Relative Athletic Score of 4.28 out of 10.
The Steelers have 90 players on their active roster, but have the ability to add one more thanks to an international player exemption for German outside linebacker Julius Welschof.
