Steelers Now
The Pittsburgh Steelers have signed wide receiver and punt returner Ke’Shawn Williams from their practice squad to their active roster, the team announced on Saturday.
Williams, an undrafted rookie out of Indiana, will help the Steelers replace Calvin Austin III, who will miss Sunday’s game against the Cleveland Browns with a shoulder injury.
Williams can serve as both a slot receiver and a punt returner for the Steelers, helping to fill both of Austin’s roles, though he will likely do so only in a backup capacity. Roman Wilson and Scotty Miller are expected to absorb Austin’s receiving role, with Miller also returning punts.
Williams fills a slot on the Steelers’ 53-man active roster that had been vacant for two weeks. They replaced him on the practice squad by signing edge rusher K.J. Henry, who had most recently been with the Philadelphia Eagles.
The Steelers signed Williams as an undrafted free agent out of Indiana this spring, waived him in the final roster cuts in August and added him to the practice squad. He has yet to appear in an NFL regular-season game.
The 5-foot-9, 188-pound Williams had a strong preseason, finishing third on the team with 86 receiving yards, taking full advantage of his four targets. He also returned punts, bringing back nine kicks for 70 yards.
Though slight, Williams posted a 4.5-second 40-yard dash and an impressive 39-inch vertical during pre-draft testing for a 5.62 Relative Athletic Score.
A Philadelphia native, Williams spent just one season at Indiana, when he caught 39 passes for 448 yards and five touchdowns. His best receiving total came in 2022, one of his four years at Wake Forest, when he had 39 catches for 553 yards and one score.
This article originally appeared on Steelers Now: Steelers Promote Speed-Demon Wide Receiver
