Former Syracuse football wideout Jamal Custis has an NFL future with the Pittsburgh Steelers. Here are the details and what it means.
A few weeks ago former Syracuse football wide receiver Jamal Custis signed onto the Pittsburgh Steelers practice squad. It was the first NFL action he got since his stint with the Kansas City Chiefs back in the preseason.
After the season the Steelers decided they liked what they saw behind the scenes and offered him a reserve/future contract to retain his services moving forward. The team announced the decision on Monday.
Custis has always had the tools: size (6-foot-5, 213 pounds), speed, and the talent. But for whatever reason, everything hasn’t always come together at the same time consistently.
When you look back at his collegiate career with the Syracuse football squad it speaks to some of those issues.
He spent five years with the Orange but four of them combined produced a grand total of 13 receptions for 142 receiving yards and two touchdowns.
While in Jamal’s final season everything seemingly came together and he finished with career highs in receptions (51), yards (906), and touchdowns (6).
That incredible redshirt senior season not only earned him collegiate honors but also revealed his true potential.
Obviously the Pittsburgh Steelers saw something that is worth investing some more time into.
Offensively Jamal brings something no other Steelers wide receiver has on the roster: size.
Outside of Jamal Custis, Pittsburgh doesn’t have a receiver over 6-foot-3. He can provide a huge boost in the red-zone and as a mismatch nightmare.
That’ll complement the return of ‘Big’ Ben Roethlisberger when he comes back to the football field in 2020. He had season-ending surgery on his right elbow and is expected to return to the gridiron.
Jamal Custis’ next step is impressing during OTAs and mandatory minicamp in the spring to earn a spot on the 90 man roster heading into training camp.