The Pittsburgh Steelers re-signed cornerback Doneiko Slaughter to their active roster, the team announced on Saturday.
Slaughter was released by the Steelers on Monday, he cleared waivers on Tuesday, and was re-signed to the practice squad on Wednesday.
Slaughter was elevated from the practice squad for the first three games of the 2026 season, which is the maximum, so the Steelers had to sign him to the 53-man roster. He played one game as a member of the active roster.
Slaughter has appeared in 52 snaps over the Steelers' first four games, all on the club's punt return units. He recorded two tackles in the team's Week 3 over the Cincinnati Bengals.
The Steelers signed Slaughter to a reserve/future contract in January. He was waived in the final round of roster cuts in August and was re-signed to the practice squad.
In three preseason games, he had 10 tackles and one pass defended, while playing an elevated role thanks to injuries to Porter, Jalen Ramsey , Brandin Echols and Donte Kent .
Slaughter played both inside and outside cornerback for the Steelers this preseason, and also worked on multiple phases of special teams: kickoff coverage, punt coverage, punt return and field goal block.
The Steelers are currently very thin at cornerback, with veteran Sean Murphy-Bunting signed from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers practice squad on Monday to give the team one veteran backup behind starters Asante Samuel Jr. and Daylen Everette.
The 24-year-old Slaughter spent his first NFL offseason with the Jacksonville Jaguars, but was released last September and spent all of last season out of football.
Pittsburgh Steelers cornerback Doneiko Slaughter and Devan Boykin at practice on August. 25, 2026. — Ed Thompson / Steelers Now
A 6-foot, 190-pound native of Atlanta, Georgia, Slaughter played collegiately at Tennessee (2020-23) and Arkansas (2024).
Slaughter grew his role over his four years at Tennessee. He started one game and totaled eight tackles as a freshman, recorded 16 tackles in 11 games in 2021, and finally earned a starting role in 2022, making two starts as a safety and five starts as a cornerback during the course of 12 games.
During his final two seasons at Tennessee, Slaughter racked up 63 tackles, one sack, one interception and seven passes defensed.
In 2024, Slaughter used the extra year of eligibility granted to college athletes due to the COVID-19 pandemic by enrolling at the University of Arkansas. He played as a starting defensive back in 13 games, registering 78 tackles, one sack, one forced fumble, one interception and six passes defensed.
Aaron Becker and Chris Ward contributed.
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