Steelers Sign Veteran RB to Active Roster, Place Former 1st-Round Pick on IR

The Pittsburgh Steelers made a few different roster moves ahead of the Week 11 showdown against the Baltimore Ravens. Most notably, they signed running back Jonathan Ward to the active roster and placed cornerback C.J. Henderson on injured reserve.

The second of those two transactions probably isn’t a good sign for running back Jaylen Warren. The third-year back was added to the team injury report with a back ailment on November 14. He’s officially listed as questionable for Week 11.

Fellow running back Najee Harris was also on the injury report with an ankle issue. However, he fully practiced on November 14 and 15 and doesn’t have an injury designation for Week 11.

Henderson landed on the team’s reserve/injured list because of a neck injury he suffered during practice. He didn’t practice on November 14 or 15.

A former first-round pick for the Jacksonville Jaguars from the 2020 NFL draft, Henderson has spent most of this season on Pittsburgh’s practice squad.

In addition to Henderson, the Steelers placed cornerback Zyon Gilbert on their practice squad/injured list on November 16.

Steelers Add RB Jonathan Ward to Week 11 Roster

Like Henderson, Ward has spent most of the 2024 campaign on the Steelers practice squad. But he has been active for four regular season games as either a practice squad elevation or late-week roster signing as he was on November 16.

In those four games with the Steelers this season, Ward has rushed for 22 yards on 5 carries. He has played 10 offensive snaps and 59 snaps on special teams.

Ward also entered the league in 2020 but as an undrafted free agent. He played his first two and a half seasons with the Arizona Cardinals.

As a rookie, he played in a career-high 14 games. He didn’t have a rushing attempt but caught a pass for an 11-yard touchdown. Ward mostly played on special teams, recording 174 snaps on the unit.

In his second NFL season, Ward played a career-high 201 special teams snaps.

Over his first four campaigns in the league, Ward played at least 88 special teams snaps every season. Although Week 11 will only be his fifth game of 2024, he could still reach 88 special teams snaps this season since he’s averaging nearly 15 snaps on the unit per game.

The Cardinals waived Ward midway through the 2022 season. He finished the campaign with the New York Jets and Tennessee Titans. Ward appeared in 10 games for the Titans from 2022-23.

Henderson came into the NFL as the No. 9 overall pick. But he failed to live up to his lofty draft expectations. The Steelers signed him to their practice squad on September 25 after he didn’t make the Houston Texans roster in training camp.

Steelers Place CB Zyon Gilbert on Practice Squad Injured List

Henderson wasn’t the only cornerback from Pittsburgh’s practice squad dealing with an injury this week. The Steelers also placed Gilbert on the injured list on November 16.

Gilbert has been on and off the Steelers practice squad throughout this fall. He last played in an NFL regular season game with the New York Giants in 2022.

He spent time with the Green Bay Packers last season.

Without Henderson and Gilbert, the Steelers don’t have any healthy cornerbacks remaining on their practice squad. But they do have D’Shawn Jamison and Ayo Oyelola, who are listed as defensive backs, on the practice squad.