Jonathan Dwyer, who was drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the sixth-round of the 2010 NFL Draft, was waived by the team on Saturday as they chose to keep the newly acquired Felix Jones instead.
During his three seasons with the Steelers, the Georgia Tech product rushed for 774 yards on 181 carries and two touchdowns.
Dwyer, who was given a one-year, $1.323 million restricted tender this past offseason, didn’t help his cause during the preseason as he failed to properly read his blocking on several plays and also fumbled twice.
The Steelers trading for Jones last Friday was a good sign that Dwyer’s job was not safe. The young running back has also had conditioning issues since his rookie season and that very well could have played into the decision to waive him as well.
With Dwyer now out of the picture, Jones, Isaac Redman and LaRod Stephens-Howling will be counted on to hold down the fort until rookie second-round draft pick Le’Veon Bell is ready to return from the foot injury that he suffered during the preseason.
While unfortunate, Dwyer’s release on Saturday was not a huge surprise.
