The Steelers have signed wide receiver Justin Hunter, Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com tweets. The former second-round pick has yet to justify his draft status but the Steelers are apparently intrigued by his athleticism and speed.
The Steelers now have eight wide receivers under contract (Antonio Brown, Cobi Hamilton, Eli Rogers, Sammie Coates, Darrius Heyward-Bey, Demarcus Ayers, Canaan Severin, and Hunter), so something has got to give. Hunter probably has only a little bit of guaranteed cash on his deal or perhaps no guarantee, so it’s not a given that he’ll make the 53-man roster.
The Patriots were linked to Hunter last week, but they might have backed off their pursuit after installing Brandin Cooks at the top of their WR depth chart. Hunter closed out the year with the Bills, but we didn’t hear any word of them trying to retain him.
Maybe the Steelers can focus now on improving the defense in the draft.