The Steelers on Saturday activated Eli Rogers from the PUP List, making him eligible to play Sunday at Heinz Field against the Patriots, but James Conner was downgraded from questionable to doubtful.
To make room on the 53-man roster for Rogers, the team placed right tackle Marcus Gilbert on injured reserve, ending his season.
Rogers, signed as an undrafted rookie in 2015, has appeared in 27 games with the Steelers, making 12 starts. He has 66 career receptions for 743 yards and four touchdowns. He also has returned 26 career punts for an average of 7.3 yards per attempt.
Rogers has been out since suffering a torn ACL in last season's 45-42 playoff loss to Jacksonville. The Steelers re-signed him in the offseason but he began training camp on the PUP List, where he also opened the regular season.
"Eli is an established inside-type receiver in this league," Randy Fichtner said. "He played really a year and a half, two years now. He’s played a lot of football. So, there’s a lot of experience, a lot of quickness and inside stuff he’s capable of bringing to you."
Rogers might be needed against the Patriots. Slot receiver/return man Ryan Switzer suffered an ankle injury in practice on Friday and is questionable to play. The Steelers also were down a receiver after placing Justin Hunter on injured reserve last week with a shoulder injury.
The move with Gilbert is not unexpected given he has missed eight games this season and the past seven straight with a knee injury. But it does lead the question of whether he has played his last game with the Steelers.
The 30-year-old veteran is heading into the final year of a contract that will pay him $4.865 million in 2019. The Steelers would save $4.9 million in cap space by releasing him. By season's end, Gilbert will have missed 23 games in the past three seasons.
Matt Feiler has made seven starts in Gilbert's absence, with rookie Chuks Okorafor filling in for Feiler in one game he missed.
Conner has a right ankle injury, sustained two weeks ago vs. the Chargers.