The Steelers made several moves on Saturday, including placing defensive lineman Chris Wormley on the reserve/injured list. Wormley, who was acquired this offseason via a trade with the Baltimore Ravens, suffered a knee injury against the Tennessee Titans last week. Wormley had three tackles and two quarterback hits this season.
In a related move, the team activated running back Trey Edmunds from the practice squad. Edmunds has been on the practice squad since the beginning of the 2020 season but was a gameday only activation for the Eagles and Titans games this year.
He opened the 2019 season on the Steelers' practice squad before being promoted to the 53-man roster on Oct. 11. He played in 11 games with 22 carries for 92 yards and had six receptions for 48 yards. Edmunds also had one interception on a fake punt against the Los Angeles Rams.
In 2018 he spent 12 weeks on the team's practice squad before being added to the 53-man roster on Dec. 4. He played in four games in 2018, but finished the season without a carry, seeing action mostly on special teams.
Edmunds, the brother of safety Terrell Edmunds, originally signed with the New Orleans Saints as an undrafted rookie free agent in 2017. He played in 16 games that season and had nine carries for 48 yards and a touchdown. He was released by the Saints prior to the 2018 season and signed to the Steelers practice squad two days later.
The team also elevated linebacker Jayrone Elliott and safety Antoine Brooks Jr. from the practice squad to the active/inactive roster for Sunday's game against the Ravens. Elliott and Brooks will revert back to the practice squad after the game without having to pass through waivers.
Elliott, who was also activated for the Titans game, originally signed with the Steelers during the 2019 training camp and was released when the team cut down to the 53-man roster. He was signed to the 53-man roster last Sept. but released a month later. He was brought back on Oct. 23 but released again on Oct. 31. Elliott returned to the Steelers in mid-November only for a short stint.
Elliott played in five games during his time with the Steelers. In the 2019 preseason Elliott recorded six tackles, one sack and a fumble recovery that he returned 88 yards for a touchdown against the Carolina Panthers. In his four seasons in the NFL he has played in 43 games with the Steelers, Green Bay Packers (2014-16) and Dallas Cowboys (2017).
Elliott was brought back in Aug. 2020 during training camp and released when the team went to the 53-man roster, and then added back to the practice squad.
Elliott played college ball at Toledo where he saw action in 47 games. He had 124 tackles, 22.5 tackles for a loss and 16 sacks.
Brooks, a safety out of the University of Maryland, was drafted by the Steelers in the sixth-round of the 2020 NFL Draft, the 198th player overall.
Brooks, who was voted MVP for the Terrapins last season, was a second-team All-Big Ten selection (coaches) and third-team All-Big Ten selection (media).
"He is a really good physical player," said Teryl Austin, senior defensive assistant/secondary of Brooks. "He plays a little of everywhere, and he was around the ball. Wherever the ball is, he is going to show up. He has a really good feel for the game in terms of instincts and not being afraid to make a decision."
Brooks, who has been on the practice squad since the beginning of the season, was the Terps leading tackler with 87 stops, including 69 solo stops, also had eight and a half tackles for a loss and five pass defense last year.
"I take tackling very seriously," said Brooks. "That is the impact of football. I think football is tackling. It's running the ball and tackling. That is how you have fun in football. I can never lose the one-on-one battles. I won't. I would be terribly upset if I did lose that battle. I am passionate about tackling and getting the ball back and stuff like that.
"I just want to play football to the best of my ability. I am an aggressive tackler, aggressive player. I did a lot of blitzing. A lot of moving around when I was at Maryland."
