A former New Orleans Saints draft pick has a new home, with rookie tight end Alize Mack signing with the Pittsburgh Steelers practice squad, per the official league transactions wire. Ray Fittipaldo of The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette first reported Mack’s signing.
The Saints selected Mack with a seventh-round pick in the 2019 NFL Draft out of Notre Dame, and he initially joined the Saints practice squad. However, the Saints cut him before their Week 3 kickoff with the Seattle Seahawks, and Mack joined the Steelers a few days later. With Mack now with another team and rookie linebacker Kaden Elliss lost for the season with a knee injury, the Saints will be moving forward without either of the players they drafted in the seventh round earlier this year.
In the wake of his departure, the Saints have two tight ends on the active roster in Jared Cook and Josh Hill, and a third-year reserve on the practice squad in Dan Arnold. Pittsburgh has struggled with health at the tight end position, with starter Vance McDonald sidelined with a shoulder injury. They picked up Mack and traded a 2020 fifth-round pick for Seahawks tight end Nick Vannett to try and bolster the suddenly-thin tight end group.
