After missing the last six games with a hamstring injury, LB/ST Tyler Matakevich is back on the 53-man roster. They have also activated WR/ST Ben Skowronek, per the Steelers account on X. In addition to those moves, they had to clear space and did so by waiving RB Jonathan Ward and S Terrell Edmunds.
Neither Matakevich or Skowronek will carry an injury designation into the game, and they are both expected to play against the Commanders, per Burt Lauten on X.
Matakevich’s 21-day practice window was opened on Oct. 24, so there were only a few more days before that window closed and he would have been forced to spend the rest of the season on IR.
Matakevich is primarily a special teamer. Prior to his injury, he was playing on both the kick and punt coverage units as well as both the kick and punt return units. Perhaps his most important role was as a gunner on the punt coverage unit. Pro Football Focus gave him a 77.4 special teams grade for those first two games. He had one tackle in each of those games.
He was a special teams captain with the Buffalo Bills, so he also brings great leadership experience to the group. The Steelers have had one of, if not the best special teams units in the league this season with three blocked kicks and punts and a punt returned for a touchdown. Getting back one of the most prolific special teamers of the last decade will only help elevate the group even further.
Like Matakevich, Skowronek has also primarily been a special teamer for the Steelers. In two games, he had played 23 special teams snaps, including gunner duties on the punt coverage unit. They should now have plenty of options at gunner.
Ward initially signed with the team after a tryout at the rookie minicamp as a special veteran exception. He was elevated the maximum limit of three times from the practice squad and ended up getting signed to the 53-man roster to help while Jaylen Warren and Cordarrelle Patterson were both dealing with injuries. He was a solid special teamer, too.
Terrell Edmunds was on the injury report this week with an illness and has now been waived. He was the Steelers’ first-round pick in the 2018 NFL Draft. They moved on from him after the 2022 season and he has since been with the Philadelphia Eagles, Tennessee Titans, and Jacksonville Jaguars. The Steelers signed him off the Jaguars’ practice squad several weeks ago and he dressed and played in three games since that happened. With Cam Sutton back in the mix, Edmunds’ limited role was redundant. He had played 63 total snaps on defense and 82 on special teams in the five games he spent with the Steelers this year.
