Steelers Place Two Rookies On Injured Reserve Among Post-Deadline Moves

The Pittsburgh Steelers continued to reshape their 53-man roster ahead of the 2025 regular season.

Following the cutdown deadline, the Steelers announced more moves on Thursday morning. They placed quarterback Will Howard and cornerback Donte Kent on the reserve/injured list and filled those vacancies by signing guard Max Scharping and safety Chuck Clark.

Howard led Ohio State to a national championship before the Steelers drafted him with the No. 185 pick. Although Aaron Rodgers had yet to sign, Mike Tomlin and Co. seemed confident enough in the four-time MVP’s pending arrival to wait on the position.

Howard lost an opportunity to prove himself in the preseason after breaking a finger on his right throwing hand. In his absence, Sylar Thompson earned a roster spot as Pittsburgh’s third quarterback behind Rodgers and returning veteran Mason Rudolph.

Like Howard, Kent must also miss at least the first four weeks of the regular season. The Steelers drafted the Harrisburg native in the seventh round after he registered 46 pass breakups through five seasons at Central Michigan.

The Steelers used those roster openings to re-sign two players released earlier this week.

Clark joined the team last month in hopes of helping a new-look Steelers secondary. After playing six seasons with the Baltimore Ravens, he returned from a torn ACL to collect 69 tackles and a strip-sack in 12 games with the New York Jets.

Scharping received limited playing time in two games for the Steelers last season, playing his only seven offensive snaps in a Christmas Day loss to the Kansas City Chiefs. The former second-round pick previously started 33 of 48 games played with the Houston Texans from 2019 to 2021 before spending two seasons with the Cincinnati Bengals.

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