The Pittsburgh Steelers are elevating running backs Lew Nichols and Trey Sermon for their game against the Indianapolis Colts.
They have just two healthy safeties that will be active, but Sermon and Nichols will come in for the Steelers to help fill in on special teams with key players like Jabrill Peppers, who has stepped on those units, out with a quad injury.
Sermon has been elevated twice before this as a kick returner and utility special teamer. This will be his third and final elevation from the practice squad.
Sermon stood out in the preseason, notching 50 yards on 10 rushes and a touchdown while adding eight receptions for 46 yards and a touchdown.
Sermon was a former star running back at Oklahoma and Ohio State. When he came out during the 2021 NFL Draft, Sermon thought the Steelers would draft him, but that was before they landed Najee Harris in the first round.
“I talked to them throughout the whole process quite a bit and met with them at the combine,” Sermon said. “I definitely thought they were going to draft me.”
Sermon played his first three seasons in Norman before transferring to Columbus. There, he impressed the Steelers and would have been high on their draft list. Instead, he landed with the San Francisco 49ers in the third round.
Nichols was also a key standout during the preseason, and this is his first elevation of the year.
Over three games this preseason, Nichols finished with 11 rushes for 87 yards and five receptions for 36 yards.
From 2019 to 2022, Nichols was a star running back at Central Michigan, topping the NCAA’s list for rushing yards in the 2021 season with over 1700 rushing yards. That season, Nicholas had nine games of 100 or more rushing yards. He was named the MAC Player of the Year.
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