The Pittsburgh Steelers have made a pair of roster moves ahead of Sunday’s game against the Buffalo Bills. Per the team’s Saturday release, OT Broderick Jones was placed on injured reserve due to a neck injury. He will miss at least the next four games.

The team also elevated CB Asante Samuel Jr. from the practice squad to the Active/Inactive roster.

Jones suffered a neck injury late in Week 12’s loss against the Chicago Bears. He was awkwardly pulled down by a Bears’ defensive player and left the game in frustration.

Originally termed a stinger, Tomlin said it was a neck injury during his Tuesday press conference and ruled him out of tomorrow’s game against the Buffalo Bills. Clearly, it’s severe enough for him to miss at least the next month of action.

Veteran and former first round pick Andrus Peat will start for Jones tomorrow. If he plays well, he’ll likely keep the spot until Jones returns, if he returns the rest of 2025. The earliest Jones could return is Week 17 against the Cleveland Browns. Pittsburgh will need to first designate Jones to-return before activating him back to the 53-man roster.

Signed during training camp, Peat has appeared in one game this year and logged eight snaps at left guard.

Samuel is poised to make his Steelers’ debut.

Samuel was signed by Pittsburgh on November 11. He last played in Week 4 of last season, undergoing spinal fusion surgery performed by a Steelers team doctor. While he visited multiple teams after being cleared to play, he opted to sign with Pittsburgh.

Samuel spent the first four years of his career with the Los Angeles Chargers, racking up 37 passes defensed and six interceptions. He’s primarily an outside cornerback, and the Steelers will have plenty of depth at the position this week with CB Darius Slay returning from his concussion last week and James Pierre playing at a high level as of late, while Joey Porter Jr. has also played well.

It’s unclear exactly what sort of role Samuel will have for the Steelers. But given that Slay has been banged up at times throughout the year, Porter was limited in practice this week (though he will play tomorrow) and the Bills deploy multiple wide receiver packages, Samuel could have a role for Pittsburgh. Potentially, The team could also look to use him to cover TEs Dalton Kincaid or Dawson Knox. That assumes if Kincaid plays. He is currently questionable with an injury.

The son of former NFL All-Pro CB Asante Samuel, Samuel Jr. was a second-round pick by the Chargers out of Florida State in the 2021 NFL Draft. He played in 50 games with 47 starts for the Chargers, and had he been healthy, would’ve been one of the more sought-after free agents this offseason. He’ll look to give the Steelers a boost in the second half of the season, and with Jalen Ramsey moving to safety, Samuel provides another reliable option at cornerback.

Samuel will wear No. 22, the same digits as his father during his NFL career.

With Samuel merely being elevated, the Steelers currently have an open spot on the 53-man roster. Pittsburgh has gone many games this season without a complete roster, though the gameday roster will still have 48 players assuming eight offensive linemen are dressed.