Former Clemson Tigers defensive end K.J. Henry is back in black and gold, and the path that got him there still runs through Death Valley.

NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo reported Tuesday that the Pittsburgh Steelers are signing the ex-Clemson star to their practice squad. For a player who has spent much of his pro career on the fringes of rosters, it is another chance.

For Clemson, it is another reminder of the edge player who stayed five years, wore the captain’s “C,” and left with a résumé that still holds up.

Henry arrived from West Forsyth in Clemmons, North Carolina, as part of the 2018 signing class and was a true freshman on the Tigers’ College Football Playoff national championship team.

He did not start that year. He did not need to.

Over the next four seasons, he became one of the program’s most durable defensive ends, finishing with 58 career games — the most by a Clemson defensive end at the time he left — and 24 starts.

Clemson’s official totals credit him with 147 tackles, 28 tackles for loss, 13.5 sacks, 11 pass breakups, four fumble recoveries and two forced fumbles.

The peak came in 2022, after he turned down the draft and came back for a fifth season. Teammates voted him a permanent captain. He started all 14 games, posted 59 tackles, nine tackles for loss and 3.5 sacks, and led the Tigers with 24 quarterback pressures, matching Clelin Ferrell’s 2016 mark.

He was a second-team All-ACC selection by the league’s coaches and media, a first-team pick from several outlets, and a third-team All-American by Pro Football Focus.

He also left with a bachelor’s and a master’s degree, a two-time All-ACC Academic Team pick who treated the classroom the same way he treated the edge.

Washington took him in the fifth round of the 2023 draft, 137th overall. The NFL has been less linear. Henry has been with the Commanders, Bengals, Cowboys, Eagles, Browns and 49ers, plus an earlier stop in Pittsburgh.

He has 22 career tackles and 2.5 sacks, appeared in one game for Cleveland in 2025, and earned a Super Bowl LIX ring while on Philadelphia’s practice squad.

The Steelers signed him to a futures deal after last season, waived him in June, and watched him spend camp with San Francisco before an injury designation. Now he is back on their practice squad at 27.

That is the life of a late-round edge. It is also the kind of career Clemson’s defensive line has produced for years: a captain who can rush, set an edge, and keep finding a locker room. Henry’s next one is in Pittsburgh.