Wide receiver Darrius Heyward-Bey has signed a one-year contract to remain with the Pittsburgh Steelers, the team announced Thursday.
[+] EnlargeDarrius Heyward-Bey
Rich Graessle/Icon Sportswire
Darrius Heyward-Bey is back for a second season in Pittsburgh.
Heyward-Bey, 28, caught just three passes for 33 yards last season, his first with the Steelers. Heyward-Bey, one of the fastest players on the team, established himself as a key special-teams player and recorded five tackles on those units.
The Steelers signed Heyward-Bey to a veteran minimum contract in March 2014, making Pittsburgh his third team since entering the NFL as the seventh overall pick of the 2009 draft.
Heyward-Bey never fulfilled expectations in Oakland — he averaged 517.8 receiving yards in four seasons with the Raiders — and played a season with the Indianapolis Colts before signing with the Steelers.
Heyward-Bey made the 53-man roster after a late preseason surge and drew a key pass interference penalty in an early season win at Carolina. But Heyward-Bey, who turned 28 on Feb. 26, never received regular snaps as a wide receiver with youngsters Markus Wheaton and Martavis Bryant emerging as complements to Pro Bowler Antonio Brown.