Steelers A to Z: TE Rodney 'Hot Rod' Williams looks to build off 1st NFL action

Editor’s note: From now until the first practice of training camp at Saint Vincent College, TribLive is running through the Pittsburgh Steelers’ 90-man roster, looking at each player and assessing his outlook for the 2024 season. The breakdown will run in alphabetical order with at least two players each day between June 14 and July 25. Contract data courtesy spotrac.com.

TE RODNEY WILLIAMS

Experience/age: Second season/26

Contract status: $915,000 cap hit in 2024, after which scheduled for exclusive-rights free agency

The past: Ubiquitously dubbed “Hot Rod” by teammates and coaches, Williams joined the Steelers practice squad early during the 2022 regular season after he had been waived by the Denver Broncos late in their training camp. Williams had joined the Broncos as an undrafted free agent out of Tennessee-Martin. The 6-foot-4 Williams began his college career as a wide receiver but switched to tight end as a senior in 2020-21. He has since bulked up to a listed 235 pounds.

An outgoing and popular presence in the locker room, Williams dutifully went through Steelers practices over the rest of 2022 and throughout the 2023 spring workouts and training camp. The Steelers last year had four legitimate NFL-caliber players on the tight end depth chart during camp, but Williams was a regular playmaker last July in August at Saint Vincent. Though Williams did not make the initial 53-man roster, he was promoted from the practice squad Oct. 4. He dressed for all 14 games (including playoffs) the rest of the season.

2024 outlook: Williams appeared to score a touchdown in his NFL debut, but officials ruled him out of bounds in his attempt to recover a blocked punt in the end zone during a Steelers’ win against the Baltimore Ravens on Oct. 10. That effort seemed to buoy Williams’ stock in the eyes of special teams coordinator Danny Smith, and Williams was a core special-teamer the rest of last season. He was mostly a bit player on offense, appearing in 57 snaps with no catches and two targets.

The 2024 Steelers return starter Pat Freiermuth, versatile Connor Heyward and mammoth 2023 third-round pick Darnell Washington to their tight end corps. Added to the group was veteran MyCole Pruitt, and another complication is that a defined fullback was added in Jack Colletto. His presence, in theory, becomes part of the tight ends equation because Heyward served as the fullback in the rare instances it was needed last season.

But if Williams continues to have the trust of Smith in his special-teams work and he continues to show play-making ability during practices while continuing to be a well-liked member of the locker room, he has a better-than-not opportunity to stick with the Steelers this season.