Editor’s note: From now until the first practice of training camp at Saint Vincent College, TribLive is running through the Pittsburgh Steelers’ 90-man roster, looking at each player and assessing his outlook for the 2024 season. The breakdown will run in alphabetical order with at least two players each day between June 14 and July 25. Contract data courtesy spotrac.com.
RB Aaron Shampklin
Experience/age: First year, no NFL experience/24
Contract status: $795,000 cap hit if he makes the team
The past: Although he first joined an NFL team in 2022, Shampklin is viewed as a first-year player because of his lack of time on a 53-man roster. The Steelers are his fifth professional organization. He signed a reserve/futures deal with the team in January.
Shampklin is the rare Ivy League player trying to make a name in the NFL. He is a Harvard graduate who spent three seasons playing on the football team. Shampklin sat out the 2019 season because of an injury, and the pandemic cancelled the 2020 season. He returned in 2021 to finish his career. In three seasons, he scored 23 touchdowns, rushed for 2,251 yards and averaged 5.4 yards per carry.
The Dallas Cowboys signed Shampklin as a free agent after the 2022 draft. He was placed on injured reserve late in training camp and then released. The Indianapolis Colts added him to the practice squad in December 2022 and signed him to a reserve/futures deal only to cut him in May 2023.
The next step was a stint in the USFL where Shampklin played in three games for the Houston Gamblers. This led to a two-week stay with the Los Angeles Chargers in training camp.
2024 outlook: The three games spent in the USFL amount to the only playing time Shampklin has received in the past two years, which puts him behind more experienced running backs trying to earn a roster spot in the preseason.
Shampklin’s competition includes veterans Jonathan Ward and La’Mical Perine, plus 2024 undrafted free agent Daijun Edwards.
Shampklin packs 195 pounds on his 5-foot-10 frame, and he ran the 40-yard dash in 4.48 seconds when he was measured after concluding his college career. Shampklin will need a strong showing in training camp and the preseason to be considered for a spot on the practice squad or, more improbably, the 53-man roster.
