Steelers Now
The Pittsburgh Steelers have elevated cornerback D’Shawn Jamison from their practice squad to their active roster for Sunday’s Week 18 game against the Baltimore Ravens, the team announced on Saturday.
It’s the third time this season Jamison has been elevated from the practice squad, and the Steelers chose to bring him up, even though all 53 players on the active roster have a clean bill of health entering Sunday’s game.
His recall could just be a precaution, as Brandin Echols (groin) and James Pierre (calf) are both returning from injury this week, and Pierre was further limited in practice this week with an illness. The Steelers could also be looking at Jamison’s special teams prowess as an asset.
In his two previous games — on Nov. 16 against the Cincinnati Bengals and last week at the Cleveland Browns — Jamison has played a total of nine snaps, all on special teams. He’s worked on kick and punt coverage and on kick return, running back one kick for 20 yards.
With the elevation, Jamison has reached his maximum of three elevations, though with it being Week 18, that’s irrelevant. Teams get unlimited practice squad elevations in the postseason.
Jamison, 26, first signed to the Steelers practice squad on Sep. 17, 2024. He spent the entire season on the practice squad and signed a reserve/future contract with the team at the end of last season.
Jamison played well this preseason, recording eight tackles, one for a loss, one quarterback hit and one forced fumble, but it wasn’t enough to earn him a spot on Pittsburgh’s 53-man roster. He was signed to the practice squad shortly after being released.
Jamison was an undrafted free agent out of the 2023 NFL Draft but signed with the San Francisco 49ers shortly after. He was with the club up until being waived on cut-down day.
He was then claimed off waivers by the Carolina Panthers the next day and was with them up until being waived on Aug. 29, 2024. Jamson played in 15 games and started two for the Panthers in 2023. He finished the season with five tackles, three of them solo stops, and one pass defended while playing mostly in the slot.
Jamison was a standout at Texas, appearing in 60 games, starting 40 of them. He started as a wide receiver before moving to cornerback, where he recorded 139 tackles, 109 of them solo stops, six tackles for a loss, 23 passes defensed, two fumble recoveries, one sack and one forced fumble. At his Texas pro day, he ran an impressive 4.51 40-yard dash.
He also ranks fourth all-time in UT history in career kick returns (54) and kick return yards (1,435). He was a 2022 preseason watch list candidate for the Paul Hornung Award and was named preseason second-team All-Big 12 by Phil Steele in 2022 at defensive back and punt returner.
Brendan Howe contributed.
This article originally appeared on Steelers Now: Steelers Add Cornerback to Roster for Ravens Game
