The Pittsburgh Steelers have signed wide receiver Ben Skowronek to their 53-man roster, according to the NFL transactions report for Tuesday.
Skowronek played one each of the team’s first two games while being elevated from the practice squad. He could have played one more game as a practice squad elevation, but the team decided to fully promote him to the 53-man roster.
The Steelers have not officially announced the transaction, nor have they announced the reported practice squad signing of wide receiver Jaray Jenkins. Those two moves will put the Steelers at the maximum of 53 players on the active roster and 17 on the practice squad.
Space for Skowronek on the active roster was created when the Steelers placed linebacker Tyler Matakevich on the injured reserve list on Tuesday.
Head coach Mike Tomlin said on Tuesday that Skowronek is dealing with some shoulder discomfort. His status for this week’s game against the Los Angeles Chargers is unknown.
The Steelers signed Skowronek to their practice squad on Aug. 30 after he had been released by the Houston Texans. The 27-year-old is in his fourth NFL season, having spent the previous three with the Los Angeles Rams. He was traded along with a seventh-round pick in the 2025 NFL Draft to the Houston Texans for a sixth-round pick in May, but he was unable to crack a loaded wide receivers room in Houston and was released.
A seventh-round pick of the Rams out of Notre Dame in the 2021 NFL Draft, the 6-foot-3, 224-pound Skowronek spent three seasons in L.A., winning a Super Bowl at the end of the 2021 season. He best statistical campaign came in 2022, when Skowronek caught 39 passes for 376 yards while making 11 starts.
This season with the Steelers, he played 11 snaps, in the season opener against the Atlanta Falcons. They all came on special teams, where he worked as a punt gunner and on both kickoff coverage and return teams.
Last week in Denver, he played 12 snaps of special teams over four phases and recorded his first tackle with the Steelers. He also played six snaps of wide receiver, without receiving a target.
Skowronek will become the sixth wide receiver on the 53-man roster , joining George Pickens, Van Jefferson, Roman Wilson, Calvin Austin III and Scotty Miller.
Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Ben Skowronek warms up before a game against the Denver Broncos is Sept. 15, 2024. — Alan Saunders / Steelers Now
This article first appeared on Steelers Now and was syndicated with permission.
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Week 3 fantasy football waiver wire must-adds
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The 29-year-old has eight seasons of NFL experience under his belt, and he’s had 50 or more targets in three of the last five seasons. He’s also the second-most targeted WR (11) on the Rams roster behind Kupp (27), which bodes well for his rapport with QB Matthew Stafford. Robinson could have some upside as a WR2 or flex play against San Francisco in Week 3. 4. Jauan Jennings, WR, San Francisco 49ers (rostered in 1.5% of ESPN leagues) Speaking of San Francisco, the 49ers have their own injury issues to worry about with their WR corps after it was announced that Deebo Samuel would miss multiple weeks with a calf injury.
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We’re onto Week 3 of the NFL season, and we’ve had a wacky start to the year. Underdogs of 5.5+ points are now 9-1 ATS this season with five outright wins, including the Buccaneers and Raiders winning last week as dogs of more than a touchdown.
4Derek Carr, Baker Mayfield, and Sam Darnold are posting MVP-level numbers for 2-0 teams. Preseason Super Bowl contenders Ravens and Bengals are reeling at 0-2. It all sets up for a fascinating Week 3. Last week, I went 3-3 on my picks, to bring me to a middling 6-7 record on picks in this column for -1.75 units. Let’s get that turned around with some more ugly dogs in Week 3. Thursday Night Football Patriots vs. Jets Thursday, Sept. 19 8:15 p.m. ET Prime Video The Patriots have a clear path to keeping this game close. Offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt has been dialing up a very conservative offense, and it’s been working. New England has the sixth-highest early down rush play rate, and it has racked up 185 and 170 rushing yards in its first two games of the season.
The Jets rank 26th in early down rushing success rate allowed and have struggled to generate a push up front. Now, edge rusher Jermaine Johnson is out for the year with a torn Achilles, linebacker C.J. Mosley is also questionable for this game and cornerback D.J. Reed missed Week 2. Jacoby Brissett is far from prolific, but he has one turnover-worthy play through two weeks and ranks 17th in EPA+CPOE. He’s been very serviceable. Unfortunately, the Patriots lost linebacker Ja’Whaun Bentley for the season, which is significant when facing Breece Hall. However, this Jets offense isn’t prolific. Aaron Rodgers hasn’t had a breakout game yet, and his 6.8-yard aDOT ranks just 22nd in the NFL. He ranks lower than Brissett in EPA+CPOE through two weeks and has been under 200 passing yards in both games. Neither team is in a particularly great spot here.
The Jets are playing on a short week for the second straight week, while the Patriots are playing on a short week after overtime on Sunday. According to Action Network’s Evan Abrams, teams that played an overtime game and then play on three days or fewer of rest against teams that didn’t play in overtime the week prior are 6-18 and 3-21 ATS (12.5%). That’s likely enough for me to stay off this game, but I’d be enticed by a +7 on the Patriots. Verdict: Lean Patriots +7 or Better Pass on These Week 3 Games Eagles vs. Saints Sunday, Sept. 22 1 p.m. ET FOX On Monday morning, the Eagles were set as a 2-point favorite in this game. As of Tuesday afternoon, the spread has ballooned to Saints -2.5, and it’s even touching -3 at some books. It’s easy to see why.
Through two weeks, the Saints have the best offense and second-best defense in the NFL by EPA per play. It’s fair to wonder what this spread would have been had Saquon Barkley simply caught the wide open pass on third-and-3 to end the game against the Falcons on Monday night. Instead, you have the Eagles traveling on a short week against a red-hot opponent that will give its defense everything it can handle. Before the season, I expected the Saints to have one of the league’s worst offensive lines and the Eagles to have a lights-out pass rush. Through two weeks, Philadelphia ranks 29th in pressure rate and New Orleans ranks ninth in pass-block win rate. Derek Carr has outpaced Jalen Hurts in every meaningful quarterback metric, and Klint Kubiak’s system is thriving while Kellen Moore is still working out the kinks. I’m not fully throwing out my priors on these teams, but I also can’t ignore what I’m seeing on the field. There will have to be a sell-high point on the Saints at some point soon, but I’m sitting this one out. Verdict: Pass Bears vs. Colts Sunday, Sept. 22 1 p.m. ET CBS The Bears’ offensive line was quietly a strength for the team last year, ranking fifth in pass-block win rate, but regression has hit hard and the group has fallen to 30th. Caleb Williams has been under constant duress, and offensive coordinator Shane Waldron hasn’t given him enough solutions.
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The Bears’ secondary has looked awesome, and Chicago ranks sixth against the pass by EPA. This is a high-variance game between two green quarterbacks struggling to find their footing in the NFL. The Bears have the better defense here, but I give the Colts a significant coaching edge with Shane Steichen over Matt Eberflus. This is an easy pass for me from a betting standpoint. Verdict: Pass Dolphins vs. Seahawks Sunday, Sept. 22 4:05 p.m. ET CBS According to Evan Abrams, backup quarterbacks have gone 38-30-2 ATS (55%) since 2021 when making their first start for their team that season.
That same trend led me to back the Packers in Malik Willis’ team debut last week, but it looks like the market is now taking notice as this spread has been steamed from +6.5 to +4.5. The Dolphins get a nice extended break here after playing on Thursday Night Football last week, and they have a decent advantage in Action Network’s NFL Luck Rankings, ranking 21st while the Seahawks rank fourth after two straight one-score wins. Still, Miami has significant flaws, especially on the offensive line.
That’s bad news for an inexperienced Skylar Thompson against a potent Mike Macdonald defense in hostile territory. Keep an eye on the practice reports to see if Kenneth Walker is active – he missed last week, and he’s a massive piece in the ascending Seattle offense. Verdict: Pass Ravens vs. Cowboys Sunday, Sept. 22 4:25 p.m. ET FOX It’s only Week 3, but this game carries enormous playoff implications for two preseason Super Bowl favorites.
The Ravens are coming off a disastrous loss to the Raiders, against whom they had a 94.5% postgame win expectancy. Baltimore ranks 27th in Action Network’s Luck Rankings after an Isaiah Likely toenail and a Justin Tucker missed field goal sent them to 0-2. The Cowboys, meanwhile, are coming off an embarrassing blowout home loss to the Saints. New Orleans is an ascending team, but the supposed best defense in football can’t be giving up 44 points at home to anyone — much less Derek Carr.
Most surprising to me is that the Cowboys’ pass rush hasn’t shown up this season, as they rank just 21st in pass-rush win rate according to ESPN. Both teams lost defensive coordinators who are now head coaches in Mike Macdonald (Seahawks) and Dan Quinn (Commanders). The defenses have shown warts as they get accustomed to new play-calling, and I believe we’ll see both improve in the coming weeks. One aspect of this game that bears monitoring is whether or not the Cowboys even attempt to run the ball. They arguably have the worst backfield in the NFL this year, and the Ravens rank second in defensive adjusted line yards. Dallas is better off with Dak Prescott racking up the passing attempts on early downs this week.
This should be a fascinating game between two playoff teams from last season that are desperately looking to bounce back. I don’t see much value from a betting standpoint, though, as my numbers make this a pick‘em. Verdict: Pass 49ers vs. Rams Sunday, Sept. 22 4:25 p.m. ET FOX In the interest of full transparency, I show quite a bit of value on the Rams here. However, I’m not sure my model can properly account for the unbelievable injury attrition in Los Angeles, especially on the offensive line. The Rams rank dead last with a 29.2 PFF pass-blocking grade this season. For context, the 31st-ranked team has a 53.3 grade. The return of left tackle Alaric Jackson from suspension helps, but Matthew Stafford enters this game with a makeshift offensive line and no Cooper Kupp or Puka Nacua.
Meanwhile, three projected starting defensive backs are on the injured reserve, and it showed last week as Kyler Murray shredded the Rams’ secondary. The 49ers are dealing with injury woes of their own, however, as Christian McCaffrey and Deebo Samuel will miss the next few weeks at least. Still, San Francisco’s offensive line is in much better shape, and Jordan Mason could have another huge game against a defensive line ranked 28th in adjusted line yards.
The Rams would be the side here, if any, but I don’t have a strong enough understanding of the injury fallout to recommend a bet this early in the week. Verdict: Pass Lions vs. Cardinals Sunday, Sept. 22 4:25 p.m. ET FOX The Lions were on the wrong side of some brutal red-zone luck last week, finishing with just one touchdown on seven trips past the 20. That’s bound to positively regress, and the odds certainly imply it will happen this week against a Cardinals defense that still has a ton to prove. It will require a better game from Jared Goff, though – he ranks just 23rd in passing success rate this year. Meanwhile, Kyler Murray is coming off the highest-graded game of his career, according to PFF.
He took advantage of a banged-up Rams’ defense, to be sure, but he finished with a whopping six big-time throws and connected with rookie Marvin Harrison Jr. for 130 yards and two touchdowns. I’m still not sold on this Arizona defense that ranked bottom two in defensive EPA per play and success rate last season, but Detroit’s new-look secondary hasn’t fully coalesced yet, and new starting cornerbacks Carlton Davis, Terrion Arnold, and Amik Robertson all grade out below-average on PFF.
The Lions should lean on their rushing attack and loaded offensive line against a Cardinals’ defensive line that isn’t fully up to the task. If Murray is playing like he did on Sunday, though, he’ll keep Arizona in this game until the end. I lean toward the Lions picking up a get-right win here, but this feels like a better game to bet live as a back-and-forth, high-scoring affair. Verdict: Pass Chiefs vs. Falcons Sunday, Sept. 22 8:20 p.m. ET NBC The Falcons pulled off a miracle comeback win on Monday night, and it felt like they had to have it.
The Saints and Buccaneers have both started the season 2-0, and dropping to 0-2 would have been a gut punch after the amount of preseason hype that surrounded Atlanta. Kirk Cousins looked better overall, but he was given far too much time to sit back in the pocket – the Eagles only blitzed him on 29% of dropbacks. Expect that blitz rate to ratchet up this week with Steve Spagnuolo’s defense making Cousins uncomfortable behind an offensive line that ranks 28th in pass-blocking through two weeks, per PFF. In particular, the Falcons’ struggles with pass protection on the interior could show up again this week against Chris Jones.
The Chiefs unfortunately lost Isiah Pacheco for the foreseeable future, but I expect Patrick Mahomes’ pass rate on early downs to increase, which shouldn’t make the offense any less efficient. Rashee Rice has been incredible to start the season, ranking fifth with 3.49 yards per route run, and this could be another huge game for the second-year wide receiver. Kansas City got out of dodge with close wins against the Ravens and Bengals, and could easily be 0-2 right now. They rank first in the luck ratings entering Week 3. Still, if this somehow touches 3, I’ll be on the Chiefs on principle. I make this number closer to Kansas City -5, and Mahomes is 24-8-1 ATS (75%) as an underdog or favorite of 3 points or less in his career.
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