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Marquez Valdes-Scantling and Aaron Rodgers are teaming up again.
But that's not the only reunion. Valdes-Scantling is also reuniting with his first NFL head coach, Mike McCarthy.
Three days after Valdes-Scantling was released by the Los Angeles Chargers, it didn't take the former Green Bay Packers wide receiver long to find a new home.
He signed to the Pittsburgh Steelers' practice squad on Oct. 20.
On paper it appears to be a strong match again. Valdes-Scantling needed a new team. And Rodgers' Pittsburgh Steelers were in need of a deep threat and another option in the passing game for a middling offense six weeks into the season.
It's the second straight year that Valdes-Scantling has reunited with Rodgers on the Steelers. The two spent four years together in Green Bay and developed a strong rapport.
Last season, Valdes-Scantling played in the team's final five games after spending about a month on the team's practice squad.
He had 120 yards on 14 receptions and one touchdown in the regular season. And in the Steelers’ wild-card playoff loss Valdes-Scantling had three catches for 26 yards.
Valdes-Scantling spent the first four years of his career with the Packers, playing in 59 games and starting 39. His return to the Steelers is also a reunion with McCarthy, who was the Packers' head coach in 2018 when Green Bay selected Valdes-Scantling in the fifth round out of South Florida. McCarthy is in his first season as the coach of the Steelers.
Valdes-Scantling had a career-high 690 yards and six touchdowns in the 2020 season when the Packers had the league’s top-ranked scoring offense.
After the 2021 season, Valdes-Scantling departed in free agency and won two Super Bowls with the Kansas City Chiefs in 2022 and 2023. He then split the 2024 season with the Buffalo Bills and New Orleans Saints.
Valdes-Scantling began last season with the San Francisco 49ers before he was released and finished out the year in Pittsburgh.
Valdes-Scantling, 32, spent this past offseason with the Dallas Cowboys but was released during roster cuts at the end of training camp. He signed to the Chargers’ practice squad a couple weeks later and was promoted to the active roster ahead of the team's Week 3 game.
He played in three games for the winless Chargers with limited production. Valdes-Scantling had the first two catches of his season for 22 yards in the team's Week 5 loss to the Denver Broncos on Oct. 11.
The Chargers released Valdes-Scantling on Oct. 17.
He'll join a 4-2 Steelers team in which he has familiarity but also one that needs a jolt. Pittsburgh has the 21st-ranked offense and 18th-ranked passing offense.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: One of Aaron Rodgers' favorite wide receivers returns to Pittsburgh
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