The Pittsburgh Steelers made several roster moves Monday. They have officially signed WR Aron Cruickshank and LB Kuony Deng, the team announced moments ago. In corresponding moves, the team waived/injured WRs Cody White and Hakeem Butler.
White was having a good summer and looked to have strong odds to make the practice squad. It’s unknown when or how he was hurt. He played in Saturday’s preseason game against the Buffalo Bills, seeing time on offense and special teams. White has spent several years on the team practice squad thanks to his size, versatility, and special teams impact.
Butler missed the game for unknown reasons. Signed from the XFL earlier this offseason, he earned plenty of buzz when he first joined the team. But he had a quiet training camp with several drops and not enough big plays.
Both will revert to IR after clearing waivers. The team can either work out an injury settlement or keep the player on injured reserve.
Cruickshank began his college career at Wisconsin before transferring to Rutgers. Though undersized at 5093, 165 pounds, he was a jack-of-all-trades in college as a receiver, runner, and returner. He had five college returns for touchdowns, four kicks and one punt. Undrafted, he spent time this summer with the Chicago Bears before being waived on Aug. 11.
In 2021, Deng spent his rookie season with the Bears. Possessing good size at 6-foot-5, 240 pounds, he recorded 121 tackles in 2019 for the Cal Golden Bears. But he missed most of 2021 with an injury, appearing in only four games and making two tackles. In 2022, he saw action for the Atlanta Falcons before being signed again by the Bears, though he was waived one week ago.
