Safety Sean Davis suffered a finger injury during Sunday’s practice — the first in pads for the Pittsburgh Steelers — at Saint Vincent.
He became the first starter hobbled by an injury.
“That finger is being evaluated,” coach Mike Tomlin said. “Maybe a dislocation.”
Davis’ injury opened the door for a relative unknown. Kameron Kelly again was the “next man up” at safety, the rangy 6-foot-2 San Diego State alumnus taking over for Davis at free safety in lieu of more established options in the organization such as Marcus Allen or Jordan Dangerfield.
Kelly has good size and was an all-Mountain West selection as a senior, but he went undrafted. The Dallas Cowboys signed him last year but released Kelly before the regular season began. Kelly did not even end up on an NFL practice squad or get a futures contract, so he played in the Alliance of American Football.
Kameron Kelly is one of four players on the #Steelers 91-man roster who are holdovers from the defunct Alliance of American Football https://t.co/0pfkeTKkIj
— Tribune-ReviewSports (@TribSports) May 29, 2019
Kelly had four interceptions in eight games for the San Diego Fleet, something that surely caught the eye of the Steelers.
When Davis was out with an undisclosed injury during organized team activities, Kelly was the choice to replace him then, too.
Kelly has become a legitimate candidate to make the 53-man roster.
“He’s shown good versatility,” Tomlin said. “He’s played some safety, he’s played in some underneath subpackage positions. He appears to be a quick learner. He appears to have detail in multiple spots. That helps his cause and ours.”
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