Pittsburgh Steelers sign former Alabama prep pass-catcher

Wide receiver Quez Watkins has changed Pennsylvania NFL teams. After four seasons with the Philadelphia Eagles, the former Athens High School standout has joined the Pittsburgh Steelers in free agency.

The Steelers announced they signed Watkins to a one-year contract on Monday.

A sixth-round selection in the 2020 NFL Draft after running the second-fastest 40-yard dash among the wide receivers at the 2020 NFL Scouting Combine, Watkins had 98 receptions for 1,249 yards and six touchdowns in 49 regular-season games with Philadelphia.

Watkins had 43 receptions for 647 yards and one touchdown in 2021 in his top season. His production declined to 33 receptions for 354 yards and three touchdowns in 2022 after the Eagles added wide receiver A.J. Brown.

In 2023, Watkins missed eight games because of a hamstring injury and posted 15 receptions for 142 yards and one touchdown.

Former Hoover High School standout George Pickens led the Steelers last season with 63 receptions for 1,140 yards and five touchdowns. But the next two wide receivers in production for Pittsburgh last season are no longer with the team.

The Steelers traded Diontae Johnson to the Carolina Panthers last month after he had 51 receptions for 717 yards and five touchdowns in 2023. Allen Robinson is a free agent after recording 34 receptions for 280 yards last season.

Of the seven other wide receivers currently on Pittsburgh’s roster, five did not have a reception during the 2023 NFL season. Van Jefferson had 20 receptions for 209 yards while playing for the Atlanta Falcons and Los Angeles Rams, and Calvin Austin III had 17 receptions for 180 yards and one touchdown as a rookie for the Steelers.