With Le'Veon Bell sidelined by a midfoot sprain, the Steelers added depth to their backfield via a rare player-for-player trade.
The Steelers acquired Felix Jones on Friday morning from the Eagles, shipping outside linebacker Adrian Robinson to Philadelphia for the veteran running back.
Jones, a first-round pick by Dallas in 2008, played five seasons for the Cowboys before signing with the Eagles in the offseason. The 5-foot-10, 215-pounder rushed for 2,728 yards and 11 touchdowns from 2008 to 2012 but never quite lived up to expectations in Dallas.
With Bell out for at least the first part of the regular season, Jones joins a rotation that includes Isaac Redman, Jonathan Dwyer and Baron Batch. Dwyer led the Steelers in rushing last season with 623 yards, but neither he nor Redman emerged as a feature back. That was a major reason why the Steelers took Bell in the second round of the 2013 NFL draft and were giving him every opportunity to win the starting job.
Bell sprained his foot in a 24-13 loss at Washington on Monday night, and the Steelers got good news when a second opinion confirmed that he won't need surgery. But ESPN's Ed Werder has reported that Bell would be sidelined six to eight weeks even if his injury didn't require surgery.
To get Jones, the Steelers gave up Robinson, who made the team as an undrafted rookie in 2012 and played in 12 games on special teams.