Steelers Land Another Former Vikings CB Prior to Week 2
This offseason, we saw a number of former Vikings head to the Pittsburgh Steelers.
At the cornerback position, both Patrick Peterson and Chandon Sullivan signed with the Steelers for the 2023 season, joining Mike Tomlin’s team that has never had a losing season as long as he’s been their head coach. This week, the Steelers landed yet another former Vikings CB as the speedy Kalon Barnes signed with Pittsburgh on Saturday.
Steelers Land Former Vikings CB Kalon Barnes
The Steelers announced the move on X (formerly Twitter), posting, “We have signed DB Kalon Barnes to the practice squad.”
Barnes spent his collegiate years at Baylor, and he actually started his tenure with the Bears as a wide receiver. However, during his sophomore season, he fully transitioned over to the cornerback spot. Over three years at the position, he recorded 59 tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss, 14 passes defended, and 3 interceptions.
The Baylor product was selected in the seventh round of the 2022 NFL Draft by the Carolina Panthers, taken with the 242nd overall pick.
However, Barnes would be cut by Carolina following the conclusion of training camp. He was picked up by the Miami Dolphins a couple days later, joining their practice squad. He would remain in Miami for a couple months, but he did not get any playing time with the Dolphins.
In December, the Vikings would sign Barnes to their own practice squad, and in Week 16 against the New York Giants, the rookie made his NFL debut by playing five snaps with the special teams. He would also appear in Week 18 for Minnesota as well as the Wild Card game against New York.
Barnes spent this year’s training camp with the Vikings as well, but he was one of the cuts made as Minnesota trimmed their roster down to 53 players. The Vikings would not bring Barnes onto the practice squad, opening the door for Pittsburgh to sign him this week.
The second-year CB now joins Pittsburgh’s secondary, hoping to make an impact with the special teams. On the Steelers 53-man roster, the CB room includes Peterson, Sullivan, rookie Joey Porter Jr., Levi Wallace, James Pierre, and Desmond King.
Josh Frey is a Class of 2020 graduate of The College of Idaho and managing editor of PurplePTSD.com. When he’s not writing about the NFL, Josh enjoys running, gaming, or rooting for the Milwaukee Brewers and Bucks. Check out his Twitter account: @Freyed_Chicken.