With the speculation running wild all Tuesday morning surrounding the possibility that the Pittsburgh Steelers were looking to sign running back Ben Tate, Tuesday afternoon they made it official.
The team interviewed and worked out Tate earlier in the day and made the decision to sign the 26-year old.
That also leads to the possibility that Le’Veon Bell will indeed be inactive Saturday night when the Steelers host the Baltimore Ravens.
Tate was considered the top free agent running back this March after backing up Arian Foster in Houston for a few years.
That led to him signing with the Cleveland Browns, where things didn’t go well and was ultimately released. Tate was claimed by the Minnesota Vikings, but was let go last week and went unclaimed.
In 11 games this season, Tate has 119 attempts for 371 yards and four touchdowns. However he averaged only 3.1 yards per carry on the season.
The Auburn product was a second-round (No. 58 overall) draft choice by Houston in 2010 and has totaled 540 carries for 2,363 yards and 14 rushing touchdowns while adding 67 catches for 347 yards in 51 games (15 starts).
He likely wasn’t signed to run the ball much this weekend, but he should see the field some and could contribute a little bit, especially in terms of pass protection where both Dri Archer and Josh Harris struggle.
Tate will wear No. 34 for the Steelers.
To make room on the active roster, the Steelers released wide receiver Justin Brown.
Photo Credit: USA Today Sports
