A day before their game at the Buffalo Bills, the Pittsburgh Steelers shook up the bottom of their active roster by making a handful of moves. Chief among them, outside linebacker Ryan Anderson was added to the 53-man roster.
A former second-round pick out of Alabama, Anderson appeared in 52 games over four seasons from 2017-2020 with Washington. He made four starts and had six sacks in that time. Anderson was signed to the Steelers practice squad during Week 2 and was called up to appear in last week’s game against the New York Jets.
The Steelers have been shuffling players in and out of their outside linebackers position room since the pectoral injury suffered by star T.J. Watt in Week 1. Malik Reed has stepped into the starting lineup, with Jamir Jones the only backup on the active roster other than Anderson.
The Steelers cut undrafted rookie David Anenih to make roster space for Anderson. Anenih was signed Sept. 15 after a three-sack preseason for the Tennessee Titans, but Anenih never appeared in a game for the Steelers.
Also Saturday, the Steelers announced cornerback Josh Jackson and safety Elijah Riley would be called up from their practice squad for Sunday’s game. Starting strong safety Terrell Edmunds (concussion) and starting cornerback Ahkello Witherspoon (hamstring) will not play against the Bills, and starting cornerback Cameron Sutton is questionable because of a groin/hamstring ailment.
A five-year NFL veteran, Jackson was in uniform and played five special-teams snaps for the Steelers in the loss to the Jets. Riley will be making his Steelers debut after appearing in 13 regular-season NFL games the past two seasons for the Jets and Philadelphia Eagles.
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