PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Steelers are elevating a familiar face to the 53-man roster for their Week 10 matchup against the Los Angeles Chargers. With the team entering the contest with just 52 players on their active roster, they are dipping into their practice squad to fill out the group entering SoFi Stadium.

The Steelers announced multiple roster moves ahead of the game, highlighted by veteran running back Trey Sermon receiving another elevation to the active roster. This will be the fourth game Sermon plays for the Steelers this season. In his three previous appearances, he has yet to receive any carries or receptions on the offensive side, playing strictly in a special teams role.

This is Sermon’s fifth season in the NFL. Originally selected in the third round of the 2021 NFL Draft by the San Francisco 49ers, he played in nine games in his first season. He accumulated 167 rushing yards and a touchdown on 41 carries with the 49ers before joining the Philadelphia Eagles for the 2022 campaign.

After another one-year stop in Philly, he spent the 2023 and 2024 seasons with the Indianapolis Colts. He appeared in 31 out of a possible 34 games over those two seasons, picking up 319 rushing yards, 112 receiving yards and two rushing scores.

That’s what drew the Steelers to Sermon this past summer. With 42 NFL games under his belt, the 26-year-old has plenty of experience despite being a relatively young running back.

The Steelers also saw the special teams allure in Sermon, and that was the deciding factor in bringing him in and keeping him around during the 2025 season. That versatility and special teams ability has earned him four appearances with the team and a high level of trust from special teams coach Danny Smith.

Coming off a 55-yard team rushing performance in their Week 9 win, can Sermon find his way into the offensive game plan? It’s unlikely with Jaylen Warren and Kenneth Gainwell still occupying the top two slots and rookie Kaleb Johnson slowly earning back more snaps after a justified slide down the depth chart at the start of the regular season. Still, the Steelers’ offense has yet to find a groove.

Sermon has shown he’s a change of pace back and special teams contributor in the NFL. If the Steelers are interested in shaking up any part of their offense, they can look to Sermon’s 6’0”, 215-pound frame to play a more powerful type of running football.

Otherwise, the Steelers have another trusted special teams player at their disposal in a crucial game against the 6-3 Chargers.

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