The Pittsburgh Steelers have received a roster exemption for international outside linebacker Julius Welschof, allowing the team additional roster flexibility throughout the offseason. The exemption was reflected on today’s NFL transaction sheet.
Welschof, born in Germany, has been roster-exempt over his past two seasons with the Steelers. Meaning, the team can carry up to 91 players on its offseason roster instead of the standard 90. He can continue being the 17th player on Pittsburgh’s practice squad, too.
He moved to the United States in high school and spent most of his college career at Michigan. Welschof transferred to Charlotte for his senior season but missed most of the year due to a shoulder injury. A unique build for an outside linebacker at 6-6, Welschof has spent parts of the past two seasons on Pittsburgh’s practice squad.
Welschof suffered a knee injury during the 2024 preseason finale against the Detroit Lions, spending part of the regular season as a free agent rehabbing the injury. He re-signed to Pittsburgh’s practice squad that November and has been on the roster ever since.
With T.J. Watt, Alex Highsmith, Nick Herbig, and Jack Sawyer firmly ahead of him, Welschof’s path to the 53-man roster is narrow. But a good summer is important to impress the new coaching staff. Welschof is also 29 years old and needs to make a push to see regular-season action. If so, that will likely begin on special teams, an area in which he excelled during his time in college.
Assuming he begins 2026 on the practice squad, Welschof is allowed to be elevated to the 53-man roster. However, doing so will shed him of his international label and the roster flexibility that comes with his place on the team. While a well-intended rule, the exemption may give teams like the Steelers pause to “burn” it and promote him even if injuries strike the Steelers’ outside linebacker room, as they have the past two seasons.
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