Steelers Add Promising Newcomer to Injury List

Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Ben Skowronek is the latest player added to the team’s injury report by head coach Mike Tomlin on Tuesday.

Tomlin said that Skowronek was dealing with some shoulder discomfort after playing in the team’s Week 2 win over the Denver Broncos. Skowronek is on the Steelers’ practice squad, but he had been elevated to the active roster for each of the team’s first two games this season.

Against Atlanta in Week 1, he played 11 snaps, all on special teams, working as a punt gunner and on both kickoff coverage and return teams. Last week in Denver, he played 12 snaps of special teams over four phases, and recorded his first tackle with the Steelers. He also played six snaps of wide receiver, without receiving a target.

The Steelers signed Skowronek to their practice squad on Aug. 30 after he had been released by the Houston Texans. The 27-year-old is in his fourth NFL season, having spent the previous three with the Los Angeles Rams. He was traded along with a seventh-round pick in the 2025 NFL Draft to the Houston Texans for a sixth-round pick in May, but he was unable to crack a loaded wide receivers room in Houston and was released.

Players on the practice squad can be elevated to the game day roster three times without being signed to the 53-man roster. If he plays this Sunday against the Los Angeles Chargers, he will need promoted to the active roster in order to play a fourth time.

The Steelers seemed to land some insurance in case Skowronek can’t play due to injury on Tuesday, signing cornerback James Pierre to the practice squad. Pierre was a significant special teamer for the Steelers from 2020-23 and had been with the Washington Commanders this offseason.

PITTSBURGH STEELERS INJURY UPDATES