The Pittsburgh Steelers waived CB Darius Rush on Tuesday, a week after signing C.J. Henderson to the practice squad. Rush had been a healthy scratch for the past two games, particularly notable last week. They lost primary backup CB Cory Trice Jr. a week earlier for at least four weeks, yet Rush didn’t dress.
Perhaps that means they feel good about having James Pierre back, whom they re-signed ahead of Week 3. Perhaps it’s also a good sign for Henderson, the former first-round pick, to graduate to the 53-man roster. The Steelers have two open roster spots after placing RG James Daniels on the Reserve/Injured List. They also waived S Jalen Elliott while signing OL Max Scharping.
With two open roster spots and two fewer defensive backs, one has to figure the Steelers will add one. They already have some on the practice squad, including veteran Anthony Averett. But head coach Mike Tomlin also loves his first-round reclamation projects and Henderson fits that bill. Of course, the Steelers have a few players eligible to return from the Reserve/Injured List this week as well. But teams don’t ordinarily make pre-emptive moves like this in anticipation of such transactions. Even still, it’s worth bearing in mind, as we could see Dylan Cook and Jeremiah Moon on the 53-man roster by the end of the week.
Absent a clear reason for waiving Darius Rush, I think it’s reasonable to believe the move is a good sign for Henderson. The ninth-overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft is for all intents and purposes a bust. But can he be a decent backup? That is all the Steelers would ask him to be, and their alternatives aren’t inspiring.
Henderson has 32 career starts in 49 games, starting 7 of 12 in 2023. Drafted by the Jaguars, they traded him to the Panthers mid-2021. Since then, he served as teammates with Donte Jackson, whom the Steelers acquired via trade this offseason.
Jackson has been a quality starter through four games for the Steelers, though not flawlessly so. Henderson would only be called upon to serve as depth in the event of injury, I would imagine. He is 6-1, 205 pounds and ran a sub-4.4 40-yard dash, so you know he has talent. That description isn’t far off from Rush, though.
Henderson is far from an aberration. The Steelers have always coveted pedigree as an experiment under Mike Tomlin, including former CB Justin Gilbert. They even traded for William Jackson III last year (remember that?), who never even played a game. Some developed into valuable contributors in their niche, like Darrius Heyward-Bey and Tyson Alualu. Others proved to be exactly what the teams that drafted them found them to be in the long run.
The Steelers only signed C.J. Henderson to their practice squad last Wednesday, however. Would they be willing to play him after less than two weeks of indoctrination into their system? They still have James Pierre, who played in the system for most of his career, as an option.
Of course, the Steelers may do absolutely nothing with Henderson. They can elevate him from the practice squad three times before they would need to sign him to the 53-man roster. All we know is that they have two open roster spots after releasing two defensive backs. There are some dots to connect, but it doesn’t necessarily paint Henderson’s portrait.
