The Birmingham Stallions of the USFL brought home a championship earlier this month, beating the Philadelphia Stars in the championship game.
It appears that many around the NFL have taken notice, as the Pittsburgh Steelers have signed a valuable piece of the Stallions’ defense to an NFL contract.
Reports have emerged that the Steelers have agreed to terms with defensive tackle Doug Costin on a one-year contract on Tuesday.
#Steelers signed former USFL Birmingham Stallions DL Doug Costin to a 1-year deal.
Costin also previously played on the #Jaguars and #Bengals
— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) July 19, 2022
Costin started four games for the Stallions this year, recording nine tackles and one tackle for loss.
Prior to his time in the USFL, Costin started nine games for the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2020, but saw his playing time fall off a cliff in 2021, only appearing in 1 game for the team while being on the team’s practice squad for the majority of the 2021 season.
He bounced between the Jaguars and Cincinnati Bengals practice squads in 2021 but did not see much action for either team.
It was announced that the Steelers were working out five USFL defensive tackles, but it appears that they have made their decision by signing Costin.
His time in the USFL may have sparked a career resurgence, and is further proof that a stay in the league can lead to an NFL contract offer.
It remains to be seen just how much playing time Costin will get with the Steelers, but this is certainly a feel-good story that he will get to prove himself at the NFL level again after it looked like his career may be stagnating.
