The Pittsburgh Steelers kept Travis Homer in the building after all. One day after releasing the veteran running back in the final cut to 53, the team signed him to the practice squad Monday, general manager Omar Khan confirmed.
Homer was one of 13 players added to the unit, a group that also includes fellow camp holdovers Lew Nichols, Max Hurleman, and several other cuts from Sunday.
The move closes a 48-hour stretch that remade Pittsburgh’s backfield. On Sunday, the Steelers traded 2025 third-round pick Kaleb Johnson to Green Bay for a 2028 sixth-round selection, then kept seventh-round rookie Eli Heidenreich as the third running back behind Jaylen Warren and Rico Dowdle.
Homer, signed in free agency in March after four seasons in Seattle and three in Chicago, did not make the initial 53. Because he is a vested veteran, he was not subject to waivers, and Pittsburgh was free to bring him back immediately.
Johnson’s exit was the bigger shock on paper. The Iowa product rushed 28 times for 69 yards as a rookie and never carved out a special-teams role after a costly kickoff gaffe against Seattle last season.
Rather than cut him, Khan turned leftover draft capital into a late-round pick as the Packers looked for insurance with Josh Jacobs on the commissioner’s exempt list.
Homer was never going to win that job on offense. In seven NFL seasons he has 90 carries for 474 yards and 55 receptions for 475 yards.
His value is the third phase: core coverage and return work, 46 special-teams tackles, and years of snaps after Pittsburgh lost several veterans in free agency.
Heidenreich, listed as a running back/wide receiver and used as a kick returner in the preseason, won the last active roster spot. Homer now becomes the veteran the Steelers can elevate on weeks when coverage units need help.
That is the practical reading of Monday’s announcement. The 53-man roster is built around Warren, Dowdle, and Heidenreich.
The practice squad is where Pittsburgh parked experience and special-teams insurance. Homer fits both.
Johnson gets a fresh start in Green Bay. Homer stays in Pittsburgh — one roster rung lower than he hoped in March, but still in the same meeting rooms he occupied all summer.
