As part of their final roster cuts on Saturday the Pittsburgh Steelers waived former fourth-round draft pick, cornerback Doran Grant. This now makes the second consecutive season that the Ohio State product has been waived prior to the first game of the regular season.
Grant became expendable on Saturday when the Steelers acquired cornerback Justin Gilbert from the Cleveland Browns via a trade. Additionally, the Steelers had to keep second-year cornerback Senquez Golson on their initial 53-man roster so that he could be moved to their Reserve/Injured list on Sunday and thus qualify to receive the designated to return tag later in the season.
With Grant now off the roster once again, it doesn’t necessarily mean that he won’t remain in Pittsburgh as the team might decide to re-sign him on Sunday or Monday when they place Golson on their Reserve/Injured list. Additionally, assuming Grant won’t be claimed off of waivers, the Steelers might try to sign him to their initial 10-man practice squad if he’s not signed back to the 53-man unit.
Last year, Grant spent a good part of his rookie season on the Steelers practice squad before finally being promoted the 53-man roster in early November.
Grant, who also spent time at safety late in this year’s training camp and the preseason, only managed to play one defensive snap in 2015. His play during the 2016 preseason started off great against the Detroit Lions as he registered several tackles and interception which he returned for a touchdown. Since then, however, his level of play seemed to drop off weekly during the preseason.
