Steelers Claim Elijah Riley, Waive Donovan Stiner

The Steelers have been awarded former Jets safety Elijah Riley off of waivers, according to the NFL Transaction sheet.

Riley was released by the Jets prior to the Tuesday cut-down date and now will land in Pittsburgh. He signed with the Philadelphia Eagles out of Army after the 2020 NFL Draft. In fact, Riley got an interception against the Steelers when he picked off Josh Dobbs in a preseason game last season. He spent most of 2021 on the Eagles practice squad before being signed to the Jets’ active roster in November.

In the corresponding move, the Steelers released Donovan Stiner. Stiner has struggled for most of training camp and in games. While he did have two special teams tackles throughout the first two games, Stiner’s lackluster play throughout most of training camp seems to have caught up with him. Stiner had been with the Steelers since signing as an undrafted free agent after the 2021 NFL Draft. He stayed on Pittsburgh’s practice squad.

In addition to that, the Steelers released running back Master Teague and outside linebacker Tuzar Skipper from the injured reserve with an injury settlement. Teague suffered an ankle injury in training camp, while Skipper suffered an undisclosed injury.

Elijah Riley will now come in and compete in the Steelers’ safety room. It is a crowded room, but Miles Killebrew’s health has been a concern with a nagging pec injury for all of training camp. Riley may have a chance to get a practice squad spot if he shows out enough against Detroit.

Regardless, Stiner’s end in Pittsburgh is a disappointing one. He had flashed at times in the 2021 process, but never got his feet under him throughout the preseason. That left the door open for the Steelers to look elsewhere, and it seems that they have done just that.