AAF alum Kameron Kelly gets 1st-team work in Steelers secondary

Already during this calendar year, Kameron Kelly had lined up at wide receiver, cornerback and strong safety. And that was before he joined the Pittsburgh Steelers in April.

On Tuesday, the 22-year-old defensive back took repetitions at free safety.

And he did it with the first-team defense.

Kelly played alongside starting strong safety Terrell Edmunds in team sessions during the team’s fourth organized team activity.

“Of course, I was excited,” Kelly said. “It made me want to lock in more and make sure I made the most of my opportunity.”

Kelly is one of four players on the 91-man roster who are holdovers from the defunct Alliance of American Football. Signed as an undrafted free agent and cut by the Dallas Cowboys in the 2018 preseason, Kelly latched on with the San Diego Fleet. It was a natural fit for Kelly, who played in the secondary at San Diego State.

Fleet coach Mike Martz, however, put Kelly at wide receiver, a position he last played in high school. After two games, Kelly returned to the secondary and finished at cornerback where he had three interceptions in one game.

When the league folded, he chose the Steelers over other suitors.

“I talked to a couple people, and they said they stay on you here, they make you work hard, but the atmosphere and culture were good,” Kelly said. “It was everything that everybody made it up to be.”

At 6-foot-2, 204 pounds, Kelly has the frame to play safety or cornerback. He also can play nickel corner.

“I feel like I’m a Swiss army knife, whatever they want me to play, I’ll play,” Kelly said. “I told coach that I’ll punt if you want me to. If you want me to go back and play offense, I’ll do that.”

Because of injuries and absences in the secondary, Kelly ended up as the first-team free safety Tuesday.

“My goal was I wanted to work my way up to the first team,” Kelly said. “That’s everybody’s goal. You want to work your way up to get as much playing time as possible.”