Steelers Activate Isaiah Buggs, Kevin Dotson from COVID-19 Reserve List

The Steelers have activated guard Kevin Dotson and defensive lineman Isaiah Buggs from the COVID-19 reserve list, signed kicker Matthew Wright to the practice squad and will activate safety Antoine Brooks, Jr. from the practice squad for Tuesday’s game with the Baltimore Ravens.

Dotson was placed on the COVID-19 reserve list on Nov. 14 and missed the team’s Week 11 game with the Jacksonville Jaguars. Buggs was placed on the list on Saturday along with defensive end Stephon Tuitt and offensive lineman Jerald Hawkins.

Hawkins and Tuitt will miss Tuesday’s game, along with running back James Conner, special teams coordinator Danny Smith and quarterbacks coach Matt Canada.

Dotson, a fourth-round rookie from Louisiana, has been a valuable back up for guards David DeCastro and Matt Feiler this season.

Buggs help replace Tuitt, along with Chris Wormley and Henry Mondeaux. He’s filled in at both end and nose tackle at times in this, his second season.

Pittsburgh Steelers safety Antoine Brooks Jr. (25) trains at Heinz Field during the Steelers 2020 Training Camp, Tuesday, Aug. 18, 2020 in Pittsburgh, PA. (Karl Roser / Pittsburgh Steelers)

Brooks has played in two games this season as an activated practice squad members, dressing in Week 9 against Dallas and Week 10 against Cincinnati. He record two tackles in that game and also got his first snaps on defense after playing just special teams against the Cowboys.

Wright spent the 2019 offseason with the Steelers and was expected to be legitimate competition for incumbent Chris Boswell with Boswell coming off a poor 2018 season. Boswell re-established himself and Wright was cut at the outset of training camp.

The Steelers have had Wright in for a visit in consecutive weeks, an effort to keep him in the testing protocol in case the team had an issue with Boswell’s availability, head coach Mike Tomlin said on Sunday. His signing fills the Steelers’ practice squad with 16 members.

The Steelers have also kept an extra punter on the practice squad all season in rookie Corliss Waitman.