The Pittsburgh Steelers have continued to trim their roster, waiving WR Aron Cruickshank. The team made the announcement today.
Cruickshank was signed the team just days ago ahead of their Thursday finale against the Atlanta Falcons. He saw a handful of snaps and targets as a wide receiver while also working as a punt returner. Officially, he did not catch a pass on three targets, all of which were deep routes, and he returned one punt for zero yards.
He played his college ball at Wisconsin before transferring to Rutgers. He was a star returner in college with five career returns for touchdowns. He also caught five touchdowns and rushed for three more during his college career at both schools.
Prior to signing with Pittsburgh, he had spent time with the Chicago Bears this offseason.
Undersized with a below average 40, he ran just a 4.63 at his Pro Day. He went undrafted in April’s draft where he signed with the Bears afterwards.
Pittsburgh has now cut nine players over the last two days. They will trim their roster to 53 by Tuesday at 4 PM/EST. Currently, their roster sits at 81. The team will need to cut 28 more players before the NFL’s deadline.
Cruickshank will be subject to waivers and could re-sign to the team’s practice squad. He had no realistic chance to make the 53-man roster. Pittsburgh will keep five receivers on their 53 and potentially a sixth with Gunner Olszewski a bubble player entering cutdowns. RB Anthony McFarland Jr. is expected to be the Steelers’ starting kick returner while WR Calvin Austin III will handle punts. Austin impressed in the return game this summer.
