Steelers Lose Rising Star Before Lions Game

The Pittsburgh Steelers have had a couple of players step up this season in times of need, and some who have gone above and beyond when called upon.

Those players include Dylan Cook, Connor Heyward and Chuck Clark. The most impressive, however, has been the season that defensive back James Pierre has had. Pierre has been a long time practice squad player, spending four seasons on the Steelers practice squad before spending one season on the Commanders practice squad. He returned in 2025, and finally was able to carve out a role for himself.

That being said, the Steelers will have to be without Pierre this weekend, as the Steelers ruled him out of the upcoming bout against the Detroit Lions with a calf injury. He joins edge rusher T.J Watt with a lung injury and offensive guard Isaac Seumalo with a tricep injury on the list of those out. Outside linebacker Nick Herbig and long snapper Christian Kuntz will both decided on closer to the game.

Pierre received the calf injury during the Steelers' win over the Ravens in week 14 and has now missed six straight practices. He was also ruled out of the previous game, and this will be his second straight game that he missed.

Pierre's Play Thus Far

Pierre has been a stalwart of the Steelers' secondary this season, having multiple great games at the cornerback position. He stepped up and started during an injury to veteran cornerback Darius Slay Jr., and played so well that Slay was benched upon his return from injury. This also subsequently likely led to his ask for a release, and Pierre continued to start.

His best game was more than likely the Week 11 win over the Cincinnati Bengals, where Pierre had six tackles and a 34 yard fumble recovery for a touchdown en route to the team's 34-12 domination over their divisional foe.

Nov 16, 2025; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Pittsburgh Steelers cornerback James Pierre (42) leaps into the end zone for a touchdown after recovering a fumble against the Cincinnati Bengals during the fourth quarter at Acrisure Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Barry Reeger-Imagn Images | Barry Reeger-Imagn Images

Pierre finished out the game against the Ravens, which seemed to point to a possible quick return and maybe that the injury was not as severe, but has been unable to play since then.

In his absence, the Steelers will lean on new signing Asante Samuel Jr., who contributed well in Pierre's absence the previous week, as well as Joey Porter Jr. on the other side. While the room is pretty thin player-wise, Pierre seems likely to return if the team makes the playoffs, if not sooner than that.

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