Newly-Signed Steelers DB Notches Interception vs. Buccaneers

Do you know the name Trenton Thompson? Pretty much everyone, including yours truly, had no clue who Thompson was before he signed with the Steelers last week in a slew of moves that was made to help relieve the pressure by the growing number of injuries to the Steelers’ secondary.

But now, a week later, Thompson is part of the Steelers safety group. And on Friday, he got his chance to make his presence felt. Playing the robber role on a play, Thompson fooled Buccaneers quarterback Kyle Trask, who threw the interception to Thompson. That is a good first impression of in-game tape for Thompson.

Kyle Trask is picked off by Trenton Thompson pic.twitter.com/xpC5Yt811V

— Billy M (@BillyM_91) August 12, 2023

Thompson followed that up for the rest of the game by sticking his nose in the mud. He is a classic strong safety who is out there making plays as an aggressive and enthusiastic participant in the running game. That could lead to Thompson pushing for a practice squad, basically out of nowhere.

Thompson, 25, is a 6-foot-1, 196-pound safety from San Diego State. He joined the New York Giants as an undrafted free agent after the 2022 NFL Draft and played one game as a rookie in 2022.

The Giants initially released Thompson at the outset of training camp and added him to the practice squad, but was promoted to the active roster on Nov. 23. He played 12 snaps, all on special teams, and then was released back to the practice squad.

He was re-signed to a reserve/future contract for the 2023 season, but released on July 25 before the start of training camp. Now, he is on the Steelers and making plays in the preseason. He is surrounded by fellow San Diego State players, with Luq Barcoo, Bill Dunkle, Jordan Byrd, Damontae Kazee, and Greg Bell all from the university. Thompson made the big splash he needed to in order to get his name on the radar.