Steelers Elevate Veteran RB for Vikings Game

For a second-straight week, the Pittsburgh Steelers are adding a running back from their practice squad to the active roster.

Ahead of their matchup against the Minnesota Vikings at Croke Park in Dublin, Ireland, the Steelers announced that they've elevated Trey Sermon.

Sermon did not log an offensive snap during Pittsburgh's Week 3 win over the New England Patriots, though he did finish the day with three special teams reps.

The 26-year-old could be featured more heavily this time around depending on the status of Jaylen Warren, however, who was limited at the end of the week with a knee injury and was deemed questionable to play vs. Minnesota.

Though Warren is expected to be active, per a report from ESPN's Adam Schefter, his workload may be reduced as a means of keeping him healthy and not worsening his condition heading into the team's Week 5 bye.

Kenneth Gainwell would be the next man up and is the leading candidate for more touches in a scenario where Warren's role is temporarily lessened, but there's a potential path towards carries for Sermon as well.

The Steelers' ground game has really struggled, however, evidenced by the fact that they average the second-fewest rushing yards per contest at 62.0 on 2.8 yards per carry, which simply won't get the job done moving forward.

Sermon signed with Pittsburgh after trying out during the team's rookie minicamp in May, and he performed well throughout the team's preseason slate, racking up 50 yards and a touchdown on 10 carries while also adding 46 yards and a score on eight receptions. Furthermore, he returned a single kick for 26 yards.

A third-round pick in 2021 by the San Francisco 49ers, Sermon appeared in nine games for the team as a rookie before getting released in August 2022.

He was subsequently claimed by the Philadelphia Eagles and played in two games before getting waived/injured ahead of the 2023 campaign.

Sermon then signed to the Indianapolis Colts' practice squad and suited up for 31 games with the team through the 2024 season, running for 319 yards over that span, before joining the Steelers this offseason.