Steelers sign St. Francis (Pa.)’s Jermaine Ponder in roster swap of cornerbacks
For the second time in six days, the Pittsburgh Steelers swapped out cornerbacks. On Tuesday, they announced the signing of former St. Francis (Pa.) defensive back Jermaine Ponder and waived/injured Derrek Thomas.
Thomas was signed Thursday but lasted only three practices before suffering an undisclosed injury. Thomas had replaced Herb Waters, who was waived/injured.
The 6-foot-1, 195-pound Ponder was credited with 16 passes defended last season, fifth-most in FCS last season.
Jermaine Ponder went undrafted in the 2019 draft class.
He posted an elite #RAS with great size, good speed, elite explosiveness, okay agility at the CB position.#Browns pic.twitter.com/88xznlzTps
— Kent Lee Platte (@MathBomb) May 23, 2019
Ponder is the third cornerback to be assigned the gold No. 33 uniform over the past week. Rookie Alexander Myres was signed as an undrafted free agent in April but never practiced at Saint Vincent. He was waived July 31 with a non-football illness designation.
In part because of a spate of injuries to others Tuesday, Ponder perhaps got more practice reps in one day than Myres and Thomas had combined for over camp’s first nine sessions.
Ponder was signed by the Cleveland Browns as an undrafted free agent but was cut last week.
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Chris Adamski is a TribLive reporter who has covered primarily the Pittsburgh Steelers since 2014 following two seasons on the Penn State football beat. A Western Pennsylvania native, he joined the Trib in 2012 after spending a decade covering Pittsburgh sports for other outlets. He can be reached at cadamski@triblive.com.
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