The Pittsburgh Steelers brought back wide receiver Brandon Johnson, announcing his signing three days after the NFL Draft ended.
Johnson, 27, has appeared in 23 NFL regular-season games, including three with the Steelers (with one catch) in 2024. Over 2022-23 as an undrafted rookie and second-year player with the Denver Broncos, Johnson had 25 receptions for 326 yards and five touchdowns in 20 games.
The 6-foot-2, 195-pound Johnson spent almost a calendar year as part of the Steelers — be it the offseason roster, practice squad or 53-man — from August 2024 through August 2025. He re-joined the team for the final three weeks of this past season but was back with Denver on its practice squad for AFC championship week.
In a corresponding move, the Steelers released John Rhys Plumlee.
The transaction likely relates to this past weekend’s draft, when the Steelers added only one true fulltime wide receiver (second-round pick Germie Bernard) but did add a pair of other players who could play the position in return specialist Kaden Wetjen (Round 4) and Mt. Lebanon’s Eli Heidenreich (Round 7), who is listed as a running back but played receiver at Navy.
A former college quarterback, Plumlee has a similar skillset. Another player like that on the Steelers’ 90-man roster is Max Hurleman, who was listed as a defensive back at Notre Dame.