Tight end Zach Gentry agrees to rookie deal with Steelers
Less than an hour after the Pittsburgh Steelers signed their final sixth-round draft pick, they also got their fifth-rounder under contract.
Zach Gentry, a 6-foot-8, 265-pound tight end from Michigan, became the seventh of the team’s nine draft picks to sign. Gentry, the No. 141 overall player drafted, signed the standard rookie four-year contract. Linebacker Ulysees Gilbert signed his contract earlier in the day.
Gentry started 24 of his 33 career games at Michigan and caught 49 passes for 817 yards and four touchdowns.
Gentry enrolled at Michigan as a quarterback but was converted to tight end as a freshman. He left school after his redshirt junior season when he caught 32 passes for 514 yards and two touchdowns.
The Steelers drafted Gentry to ease the loss of backup tight end Jesse James, who signed as a free agent with the Detroit Lions.
First-round pick Devin Bush and third-round selection Justin Layne remain the only two unsigned players among the Steelers’ draft picks.
Joe Rutter is a TribLive reporter who has covered the Pittsburgh Steelers since the 2016 season. A graduate of Greensburg Salem High School and Point Park, he is in his fifth decade covering sports for the Trib. He can be reached at jrutter@triblive.com.
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