Ballhawking Former Steelers DB Finds New Home in UFL

Former Pittsburgh Steelers defensive back Kameron Kelly has found a new home for the 2024 season, signing with the St. Louis Battlehawks of the UFL, the league announced this week.

Kelly, 27, spent the first part of the 2019 season with the Steelers. Then in his second pro season, Kelly was a surprise to make the team’s 53-man roster out of training camp and even started the team’s season-opening game against the New England Patriots in Week 1.

After that, Kelly settled into a reserve role, playing in 14 games and recording 21 tackles, one pass defended and one interception. He remained on the team until he before he was arrested in December for an incident in a South Side bar. Kelly was waived and has not returned to the NFL.

But he hasn’t stopped playing football. The 6-foot-2, 225-pound San Diego State alum spent two summers with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats of the Canadian Football League in 2021 and 2022. Last spring, he played for former Steelers wide receiver Hines Ward with the San Antonio Brahmas in the XFL.

Kelly played in eight games and made six starts for the Bahamas in the XFL. He recorded 17 tackles, and had two interceptions to tie for the team lead.

With the XFL and USFL merging and half of the combined leagues’ 16 teams folding, Kelly was not retained by the Brahmas through the offseason process. But he has found a new home, signing with the St. Louis Battlehawks, one of the other three former XFL teams in the new league.

Playing in The Dome at America’s Center, the former home of the St. Louis Rams before they moved back to Los Angeles, the Battlehawks have been one of the most successful spring football teams in the genre’s latest revival.