Mountaineers in the Pros: Steelers Promote Former WVU RB Wendell Smallwood to Active Roster

The Steelers have officially placed center Maurkice Pouncey on the COVID-19 reserve list and promoted running back Wendell Smallwood and offensive lineman Anthony Coyle from the practice squad to the active roster, the team announced on Wednesday before Pittsburgh’s game against the Baltimore Ravens.

Smallwood, a West Virginia alum, signed with the Steelers on the eve of training camp and has spent the entire season on the Pittsburgh practice squad. He has 233 career NFL carries for 931 yards and five touchdowns over four seasons with the Philadelphia Eagles and Washington Redskins.

Smallwood will help offset the loss of starting running back James Conner, who will miss the game on the COVID-19 reserve list, and backups Jaylen Samuels, who is out with a quad injury, and Trey Edmunds, who was placed on the injured reserve list with a hamstring injury.

In three seasons at West Virginia, Smallwood played in 38 games and rushed for 2,462 yards and 12 touchdowns on 425 carries. He had a breakout season as a junior in 2015, when he rushed for 1,519 yards and averaged 6.4 yards per carry.

A version of this story originally appeared on WVSN’s partner site, Steelers Now.