After visiting with the Pittsburgh Steelers earlier this week, FB Kyle Juszczyk is returning to the team who released him. Per ESPN’s Adam Schefter, Juszczyk is re-signing with the San Francisco 49ers on a two-year deal. It’s worth $8 million.
Juszczyk made the trip to Pittsburgh on Thursday but left without a deal. For the Steelers, it’s often a sign a player won’t end up signing and once again proved to be the case. Instead, he returns to the team where he’s spent the bulk of his career, signing with San Francisco in 2017 after spending the first four seasons with Baltimore, facing the Steelers twice (or more) per season.
Though turning 34 in April, Juszczyk is still one of the NFL’s best and most versatile fullbacks. Steelers’ offensive coordinator Arthur Smith has traditionally used a fullback in his offense, though they’re often a pure lead blocking type instead of the more versatile pass catcher like Juszczyk. Diminishing special teams value, just seven snaps in 2024, also hurt his gameday value and would-be Steelers’ role.
In Smith’s first year with Pittsburgh, tight ends Connor Heyward and MyCole Pruitt saw a handful of fullback-aligned snaps though neither were particularly effective in the role. Per our charting, Heyward led the way with 42 fullback snaps while Pruitt added another 17.
A nine-time Pro Bowler and one-time All-Pro, Juszczyk has 24 career touchdowns. In 2024, he caught the ball 19 times for 200-yards and a pair of scores along with five carries and an additional touchdown.
Other free agent fullbacks Pittsburgh could instead consider include the New Orleans Saints’ Adam Prentice and the Detroit Lions’ Michael Burton. Both players hit free agency at the start of the new league year. Pittsburgh’s backfield is poised to look different in 2025, losing RB Najee Harris to the Los Angeles Chargers, signing RB Kenneth Gainwell, and likely set to add a rookie in the mid-rounds of next month’s draft.
