Jacoby Jones to Steelers: Latest Details, Comments and Reaction

The Pittsburgh Steelers announced they've claimed wide receiver and return specialist Jacoby Jones off waivers from the San Diego Chargers on Thursday. Jones was released by the Chargers on Tuesday, per Ricky Henne of Chargers.com.

The Steelers released receiver/running back Dri Archer to account for Jones’ addition to the 53-man roster. 

It’s an interesting move by Pittsburgh given Jones’ adverse history with Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin. During a 2013 game while Jones was with the Baltimore Ravens, Tomlin nearly tripped Jones on a kickoff return, drawing a $100,000 fine from the NFL.

Adam Schefter of ESPN highlighted the irony:

Here is the video of the incident, courtesy of the NFL.

Jones, who signed a two-year, $5.5 million deal with the Chargers in March, averaged negative yards on five punt returns in five games this season. In the three years prior with the Ravens, Jones scored five touchdowns on combined returns.

He should free up return duties from primary specialist Antonio Brown, the team's top receiver. The Steelers have already weathered a season-ending knee injury to star running back Le'Veon Bell and were without Ben Roethlisberger for four games due to a knee injury the quarterback suffered in Week 3. 

Tomlin smartly doesn't want to risk losing yet another skill-position player—particularly one of Brown's elite caliber—for a preventative cause such as kick returns.