The Pittsburgh Steelers kept filling out their practice squad on Tuesday, and one of the names that jumped out was former New England Patriots fifth-round pick Bradyn Swinson.
The 24-year-old edge rusher arrives in Pittsburgh after New England decided he no longer fit on the 53-man roster or even the practice squad, giving the Steelers a chance to develop a long-armed, 6-foot-4, 255-pound prospect who showed real production in his final college season.
Swinson started at Oregon before transferring to LSU, where he broke out in 2024 with 8.5 sacks and 13 tackles for loss on the way to second-team All-SEC honors.
The Patriots took him 146th overall in the 2025 draft. His rookie year was quiet: three regular-season games, mostly special teams, and a single tackle. He spent part of that season on the practice squad before getting a late-season promotion.
This preseason, he looked more like the player New England thought it was drafting, posting eight tackles across three appearances, yet the Patriots still let him go.
For Pittsburgh, the signing is low-risk depth behind T.J. Watt, Alex Highsmith, Nick Herbig and Jack Sawyer. The Steelers have long valued athletic edge players they can coach up, and Swinson’s combination of length, play strength against the run and improving hand usage as a pass rusher fits that profile.
Practice-squad work under Mike McCarthy’s staff gives him a chance to refine technique and spatial awareness—the areas scouts flagged even when they liked his tools. If injuries hit the edge group, an elevation becomes realistic.
The calendar adds a neat wrinkle. Pittsburgh visits Foxborough in Week 2. Swinson could be on the inactive list that afternoon or, if the Steelers need a body, he could find himself lining up against the franchise that drafted him a year earlier.
Either way, the move reflects how quickly roster spots turn over after cutdown day. New England chose to move on. Pittsburgh saw a young player with size and a late-blooming production spike and decided he was worth a practice-squad look.
Swinson is not an immediate starter. He is a developmental piece on a defense that still leans on its established pass rushers.
But for a Steelers team that has historically extracted value from mid-round and late-round edge talent, adding him costs little and keeps another body in the building who can rush the passer and hold up in the run game.
How far he climbs from here will depend on how quickly he absorbs the scheme and whether the opportunity appears.
For now, he has a new home in black and gold and a fresh chance to show the traits that made him a fifth-round pick in the first place.
