Steelers WR Clears Waivers, Reverts to Injured Reserve

Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Ja’Marcus Bradley has cleared waivers and reverted to the team’s injured reserve list, according to the NFL transactions page for Wednesday.

Bradley was waived with an injury designation on Tuesday in order to make room on the 90-man offseason roster for free agent safety Jalen Elliott. 

The Steelers have been in a significant roster crunch at safety, with Minkah Fitzpatrick missing a week for personal reasons and Damontae Kazee, Keanu Neal and Tre Norwood all out with injuries. 

That prompted the team to add Elliott ahead of Friday’s preseason opener, and that caused Bradley to be the odd man out.

Bradley was injured in the Steelers’ Friday Night Lights practice at Latrobe Memorial Stadium, and head coach Mike Tomlin said that he was to be considered day to day, so his release was likely more about clearing a space on the 90-man roster than it was his injury.

As a result, the Steelers are probably unlikely to leave Bradley on their injured reserve list all season. They will likely negotiate an injury settlement with him in order to release him so that he can catch on with another team.

The 6-foot-1, 198-pound Bradley signed with the Steelers in November of last season and finished the year on the practice squad and never really got to display his talents to the Steelers’ coaches. 

Before his time in Pittsburgh, he spent parts of three seasons with the Cleveland Browns. In Cleveland, Bradley appeared in eight games and logged nine receptions for 124 yards. In addition, he returned kicks for the Browns at a point and averaged 24.5 yards per return. 

A Louisiana alum, Bradley steadily improved each season to the point of being the first Ragin’ Cajun to haul in 10-plus touchdowns in consecutive seasons. Additionally, Bradley returned kicks for Louisiana in his final two seasons as he averaged 21.1 yards per return.

In 2019, Bradley led Louisiana with 60 receptions for 906 yards and 10 touchdowns. He finished his Ragin’ Cajun career ranked second in school history with 23 touchdowns.