Roughly 24 hours after the Pittsburgh Steelers poached cornerback Sean Murphy-Bunting off the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' practice squad, general manager Omar Khan just made a move that reeks even more of desperation after the Joey Porter Jr. trade and the Jamel Dean injury.
Suddenly thin at the cornerback position, Khan poached another practice squad cornerback on Tuesday. This time, it was Terell Smith from the Washington Commanders' practice squad, Nick Farabaugh of PennLive reported.
Smith, a fifth-round draft pick of the Bears in 2023, spent his first two seasons in Chicago. Unfortunately, the young cornerback suffered an injury that derailed his 2025 season.
In the Bears' second preseason game in 2025, which came against the Buffalo Bills, Smith suffered a torn patellar tendon in his knee. Smith had to be carted off the field. He was later placed on IR and underwent surgery to repair his knee.
Poaching Smith is a low-risk gamble with a potential reward. However, the Steelers' last two roster additions haven't played meaningful football since 2024, which in itself raises some serious concerns.
Omar Khan shows his desperation to fix the Pittsburgh Steelers' secondary with Terell Smith signing
Since becoming general manager, Omar Khan has made it clear that he's not afraid to draft or sign players who have had significant injuries in the past. This was evident early this week. Sean Murphy-Bunting missed the entire 2025 season with an ACL injury, while Terell Smith missed all of 2025 with a torn patellar tendon in his knee.
Suddenly, these two cornerbacks, who just finished nursing their way back to health, could be asked to step in and contribute to Pittsburgh's defense immediately.
What's concerning is that neither Murphy-Bunting nor Smith was even on NFL rosters to begin the year (which shows what their respective teams thought of them post-injury). But with Joey Porter Jr. traded to the Dallas Cowboys and Jamel Dean set to miss a few weeks with an ankle injury, desperate times call for desperate measures.
In his first two NFL seasons in 2023 and 2024, Smith appeared in 26 games, making six starts. On 584 defensive snaps, Smith has collected 68 tackles, 10 passes defended, four tackles for a loss, and an interception.
Interestingly, Smith earned a 78.5 overall PFF grade in 2024, which came after a 69.6 overall grade as a rookie in 2023. Smith also possesses an impressive blend of size and speed. At the 2023 NFL Combine, the Minnesota product measured in at 6'0 1/2'' and 204 pounds with 32 7/8'' arms while clocking a 4.41-second 40-yard dash.
While the prototype size remains, the Steelers need to see if Smith still possesses the speed post-injury (which is where they are with Murphy-Bunting right now, too).
Both Terell Smith and Sean Murphy-Bunting are low-risk gambles for Omar Khan, but considering both cornerbacks are coming off major knee injuries and haven't seen the field for a meaningful game since 2024, these feel like desperation moves to fill a Joey Porter Jr. sized hole and possibly weather the storm for the next few weeks without Jamel Dean.
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