After a rough Week 15 loss, the Steelers worked out five players on Monday. Per NFL insider Aaron Wilson, those players were wide receivers Ajo Ajou and Makai Polk, as well as defensive back Tyrell Ford, defensive tackle Ralph Holley, and punter Jake Julien.

Ajou played college football at Clemson and USF, logging 10 career catches for 123 yards and a touchdown. He was drafted in the seventh round of the 2024 CFL Draft by the Saskatchewan Roughriders. The 6’3, 218-pound receiver recorded 20 catches for 307 yards and two touchdowns in 12 games in 2024.

Polk recorded three college seasons, two for Cal and one for Mississippi State. In his final season in 2021, he recorded 105 receptions, 1,046 yards, and nine touchdowns. Polk participated in the 2022 NFL Combine, where the 6’3, 195-pound receiver ran a 4.59-second 40-yard dash. He went undrafted but signed with the Baltimore Ravens, later spending some time with the New York Giants. Polk spent the 2024 season with the Toronto Argonauts, where he recorded 61 receptions for 1,024 yards and five touchdowns in 17 games.

Ford played college football in Canada before being drafted 13th overall by the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in the 2022 CFL Draft. He spent rookie minicamp in 2022 with the Steelers. Ford saw playing time as a defensive back and kick returner at the University of Waterloo, running a 4.42-second 40-yard dash at the CFL combine. The 6’0, 200-pound defender has recorded 51 tackles and seven interceptions through 18 games this season for Winnipeg.

Holley is a Western Michigan product, playing college football there from 2017-2021. His best season was his final one, where he had 39 total tackles and six sacks. He went undrafted in 2022, playing for the USFL’s Philadelphia Stars before signing with the CFL’s Toronto Argonauts in 2023. In 16 games in 2024, the 6’0, 285-pound defensive tackle has recorded 22 tackles and eight sacks.

Julien played college football for Eastern Michigan, where he had 221 career punts with a 44-yard average and a long of 78. He was signed by the New England Patriots in 2022 after going undrafted, never appearing in an NFL game. The 6’1, 227-pound punter has been the Edmonton Elks’ starter for the last two seasons, where he’s punted 107 times with an average of 54 yards and long of 87.

It’s unlikely any of those five players will be in-season signings for Pittsburgh, but with the season winding down, the front office could be looking ahead to offseason futures contracts.