Week 1 of the 2025 NFL season is here for the Pittsburgh Steelers, which means so are practice squad elevations. Oftentimes, these elevations serve as a precursor or hint at who will play and who won't, as teams tend to elevate players from position groups that are injured.
Well, the Steelers elevated CB James Pierre on Saturday. Not a defensive lineman, and not an EDGE player. Which tells me both Cam Heyward and Nick Herbig should be out there for the season opener on Sunday.
We have elevated CB James Pierre to the Active/Inactive Roster off the Practice Squad. @BordasLaw https://t.co/FYiTHs8o4H
— Pittsburgh Steelers (@steelers) September 6, 2025
Before we get into the details, let's break down the basics of the practice squad. Members like Pierre make up a group of 16 individuals, who can be signed by another team at any time since they are not actually members of the 53-man roster.
But if , for example, the Steelers were to elevate Pierre three times, that's where it would end. A player cannot be elevated a fourth time, meaning the team would have to sign the player to the active roster.
As for what this move means, I'm sure Pierre will offer some special teams depth. No corners were listed throughout the week's injury report, and Mike Tomlin didn't mention anyone of note on Tuesday.
Looks like everyone not named Derrick Harmon should be ready to go.
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/8nvH-mIU6-w
“Derrick Harmon is the only guy at this juncture that I would characterize as out,” said Coach Tomlin on Tuesday. “I would characterize [Nick] Herbig as questionable. He had a really good day yesterday, so we’ll leave the door ajar for him and see where work leads us during the course of the week. . .
" . . Certainly, his participation and the quality of his participation will be the key variable in terms of our decision making, whether or not we choose to use him or not. Other than those two instances, man, we’re largely a healthy group.
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