Steelers add to RB room, sign Trey Sermon, Max Hurleman; also add massive rookie OT

To add to their running backs position room, the Pittsburgh Steelers signed a pair of intriguing players who couldn’t be of more disparate backgrounds.

Among the three players signed off of tryouts at rookie minicamp this past weekend were two listed as running backs: Trey Sermon and Max Hurleman.

Also announced Monday as a signing off a tryout was massive undrafted rookie offensive tackle Gareth Warren. The move is notable because the Steelers have a history of developing so-called “project” offensive linemen into rostered players.

But the most interesting aspect of Monday’s signings are the two are running backs, a position where the Steelers let their four-year starter — Najee Harris — walk in free agency this spring.

Sermon is a fifth-year NFL veteran of 42 career games five starts. Hurleman is an undrafted rookie who was a defensive back at Notre Dame last season and, prior to that, a wide receiver at FCS Colgate.

While it is most likely the Steelers are interested in the 5-foot-11, 200-pound Hurleman as a special teams prospect, he had 814 rushing yards in college. Additionally, 520 of his 841 career receiving yards came while he was a running back.

Max Hurleman RB/WR Grad Transfer
-6’0 205 lbs.
-2023 1st Team All-Patriot League
-3 Year Starter (2 as RB, 1 as WR)
-2 Year Starter at PR
-2,196 Career All Purpose Yards pic.twitter.com/y9DPIh9zkr

— Max Hurleman (@maxhurleman) November 29, 2023

This past season, Hurleman served as the primary punt returner for national finalist Notre Dame. He was also a “core four” special-teamer for the Fighting Irish, and it was on kick and punt coverage that he recorded the vast majority of his 13 tackles.

But it is important to note the Steelers listed Hurleman as a running back, the position at which he was honored as all-state in 2019 while playing for Wyomissing Area High School in eastern Pennsylvania.

Sermon, meanwhile, was one of the highest-profile college running backs in the country from 2017-20. He three times played for College Football Playoff teams with Oklahoma and Ohio State and totaled 2,946 yards and 26 touchdowns rushing.

Sermon (6-0, 215 pounds) was the fourth running back taken in the 2021 draft. Harris was the first to the Steelers, going No. 21 overall, 67 slots and two rounds before the San Francisco 49ers selected Sermon.

But Sermon lasted only one season (nine games, 41 carries) in San Francisco, and he played in only two games the following season for the Philadelphia Eagles before being waived from injured reserve. It was with the Indianapolis Colts that Sermon has been most productive, appearing in all 17 games this past season.

Only twice has Sermon had more than 38 rushing yards in a game. Once came against the Steelers: 88 yards on 17 carries in a December 2023 Colts victory.

Sermon and Hurleman join a running backs corps led by returnees Jaylen Warren and 34-year-old veteran Cordarrelle Patterson, third-round draft pick Kaleb Johnson and free-agent signee Kenneth Gainwell. Gainwell, who played for the Super Bowl champion Eagles, is a third-down specialist.

Also on the offseason roster are veteran Jonathan Ward (who made the team off a tryout at last year’s rookie camp) and second-year back Evan Hull, who was a teammate of Sermon’s in Indianapolis the past two seasons. Hull had more than 2,700 yards from scrimmage and 28 touchdowns his final two seasons at Northwestern, but a knee injury suffered during Week 1 of his rookie season has derailed his pro career thus far. He signed with the Steelers on a reserve/future contract in January.

To make room for Monday’s additions to the 90-man offseason roster, running back Aaron Shampklin was released. Shampklin, a Harvard alum, appeared in three games and had six carries for the Steelers last season.

Here are some clips of Lindenwood offensive tackle, Gareth Warren, who the #Steelers signed to their 90-man roster following rookie minicamp.

???? (@NoahKMChang) pic.twitter.com/LYYIItOqPi

— Steelers Black and Gold Nation - Off-season (@B_GNation1) May 11, 2025

Meanwhile, Gareth Warren stands 6-6, 333 pounds and played at Lindenwood. A guard in 2022 but left tackle the past two seasons, Warren is a native of Hawaii who was all-conference in 2024.

The Steelers over the past decade turned players who have large size and/or have a history at another position (Alejandro Villanueva, Zach Banner, Dylan Cook) into viable NFL offensive tackles.