The Pittsburgh Steelers have officially signed running back Ben Tate, adding him to the 53-man roster. To make room for Tate, the Steelers released WR Justin Brown. A strong blocker in the run game, Brown showed promise in OTA’s and training camp, earning the trust of the Steelers coaching staff and opened the season as the No. 3 receiver. Brown, though, dropped all the way to sixth on the depth chart by mid-October and has not been a factor in the offense for over two months.
He had 12 receptions for 94 yards on the season.
Tate joins the Steelers after spending the 2011-13 seasons with the Houston Texans and 2014 with the Cleveland Browns and Minnesota Vikings. Since entering the NFL as a second-round (58th overall) draft choice by Houston in 2010, the Auburn product has totaled 540 carries for 2,363 yards and 14 rushing touchdowns while adding 67 catches for 347 yards in 51 games (15 starts).