The Pittsburgh Steelers have shuffled around their practice squad, releasing DT Domenique Davis and signing RB Jonathan Ward, the team announced Friday.
Ward was waived Wednesday to clear room for CB Cory Trice Jr., who was activated from injured reserve Thursday on the final day of his 21-day window. A veteran who signed with the team following a rookie minicamp tryout, Ward appeared in four games for the Steelers this season after backfield injuries piled up. He logged five carries for 22 yards, primarily playing on special teams on the coverage and kick-return units.
He had a solid training camp that was only interrupted by a late knee injury. Here’s part of what we wrote about him in our post-camp recap.
“And he’s more than just a runner. Ward has special teams value, serving as a wing on the punt-coverage team and even getting gunner reps during one skeleton drill, though I haven’t seen him see work much outside of that. He’s also mixed in on the kick-return team as Pittsburgh has focused using running backs instead of wide receivers there under the league’s new rules. He’s also a serviceable receiver for checkdowns. In pass protection, he’s just average but was not a major liability in the backs-on-‘backers drill and he identified the blitz well in team periods. From a statistical standpoint, he posted a scorching 6.8 yards per carry, no doubt aided by that 80-yard romp, but you can’t exactly take away his big plays, either.”
With Najee Harris, Jaylen Warren, and Cordarrelle Patterson healthy, Ward had been inactive for several weeks before being released earlier this week. He’ll serve as quality depth the rest of the regular season. For his career that’s included time with the Arizona Cardinals and Tennessee Titans, Ward has appeared in 46 games and recorded 22 carries.
Davis was signed to the Steelers’ practice squad in early November. Undrafted in 2020, he’s spent time with the New York Jets and Cincinnati Bengals. He played in two games for the Bengals in 2022, recording three assisted tackles. The health of NT Montravius Adams, practicing fully yesterday after suffering a knee injury, made him expendable. Adams is eligible to be activated off IR prior to this weekend’s game against the Cleveland Browns, but the team could keep him on injured reserve for another week.
Pittsburgh and Cleveland kick off Sunday at 1 PM/EST.
