MISSOULA — Montana natives Junior Bergen and Dylan Cook are joining the practice squads of the San Francisco 49ers and Pittsburgh Steelers, respectively.
The Steelers announced they signed Cook to their practice squad, while respected NFL journalist Mike Garafolo reported Bergen's signing with the 49ers.
After returning an FCS-record eight punts for touchdowns during his Griz career, Bergen, a Billings native who starred with the Montana Grizzlies, was selected by the 49ers in the seventh round of the NFL Draft. The special teams dynamo, who is also working as a wide receiver, had a 28-yard punt return in Week 1 of the preseason.
Bergen was also effective returning kickoffs in his second preseason game, but he mishandled a punt in his third preseason game — a costly mistake for a young player battling for a roster spot.
But San Francisco, which features Butte native Colt Anderson as an assistant special teams coach, saw enough potential in Bergen to bring him back to the practice squad, where he will be joined by Sebastian Valdez, a former Montana State Bobcat. Valdez finished his college career at the University of Washington.
Cook, who started his college career at MSU-Northern and finished at Montana, has three years of NFL experience, though he has yet to see action in a regular-season game. An offensive tackle, Cook originally signed as an undrafted free agent with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2022 but has been with the Steelers organization since 2023.
Each NFL team's practice squad include 16 players. Each of those players is eligible to be called up to active game day rosters a maximum of three times before they must be moved to the 53-man roster.
Editor's note: This article has been updated to correct that Tommy Mellott has not signed with the Las Vegas Raiders' practice squad.
