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Cardinal Mooney grad Vinopal inks Steelers futures contract
By STEVE WILAJ
On the first day of the Pittsburgh Steelers’ offseason, Cardinal Mooney graduate Ray Vinopal signed a futures contract.
“They brought me in for a workout a couple weeks ago,” said Vinopal, a safety who played for the University of Pittsburgh from 2013-15. “They said they were interested in signing me to a future deal and said possibly ... so when they lost [Sunday to the Broncos], they signed me as soon as they could, basically.”
Last May, Vinopal was not selected in the NFL Draft. He signed a free agent contract with the Dallas Cowboys.
In a preseason game against the San Diego Chargers, Vinopal suffered an ankle injury and was released.
“When the Cowboys released me, I was back in Youngstown working four-five days a week for a house flipping company in the area,” Vinopal said on Monday evening. “But eventually the Steelers called me up and I’m ready to go.”
Vinopal said he’s healthy and ready to learn.
“I was eventually released with an injury settlement — they can’t cut you when you’re medically unable,” Vinopal said. “So it was an ankle injury that affected some tendons and ligaments in my ankle.
“There was no surgery or anything, it just required a lot of time to rehab. So when the Cowboys parted ways with me, I came home and rehabbed and got ready for this next opportunity.”
Vinopal will work on his MBA at Pitt while working out with the Steelers.
“I’m in Pittsburgh right now,” Vinopal said. “So I’m just gonna work out at the facility, take part in team activities, offseason team workouts until early March. Then that leads into training camp, basically.”