When browsing the transactions wire for Thursday, we saw an old Pittsburgh Steelers friend we haven't seen in a long time.
That old friend is offensive lineman Zach Banner, who was a fourth-round pick of the Indianapolis Colts in 2017. Banner never played a snap in Indy and instead saw his first NFL action with the Cleveland Browns before eventually landing with the Steelers in 2019.
Banner has not played a snap in the NFL since 2021, when he appeared in seven games for the Steelers. Banner was then cut loose in March the next year.
Now, the USC product is attempting to make an NFL comeback. Banner took part in a workout with the Chicago Bears on Thursday. The last time he worked out for a team was in 2023 with the New York Jets, but he didn't get signed.
Over three seasons in Pittsburgh, Banner played in 22 games and started in two of them. He suffered a knee injury in 2020 and said that was the cause of his lengthy absence from football.
"I also have been missing for a while, and I want everyone to know I’ve just been working out and training my knee," he said in 2023. "I have not retired... I'm simply just a bigger man who has needed more time to get past a devastating injury."
The last time Banner stepped on a football field for a game was earlier this, when he played in nine contests with the Houston Roughnecks in the UFL.
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