The Pittsburgh Steelers waived two wide receivers as injured on Monday. As expected, both cleared waivers on Tuesday and have now reverted to the team’s Reserve/Injured list.
After clearing waivers, WR Cody White and WR Hakeem Butler are on the Steelers’ Reserve/Injured list, and now we wait to see if either or both receive injury settlements in the next week. Both will be on the Reserve/Injured list on split salaries in the meantime.
While the injuries both players are dealing with aren’t known at the time of this post, Butler didn’t play in the team’s second preseason game this past Saturday night, and that was a bit of a surprise. As for White, he did play Saturday night against the Bills and logged 32 offensive snaps with seven more on special teams. White caught one pass for 6 yards on two total targets.
White, the son of Steelers Director of Pro Scouting Sheldon White, is a former undrafted free agent out of Michigan State who broke into the NFL in 2020 with the Kansas City Chiefs. He has become a professional practice player of sorts for the Steelers as he’s been on Pittsburgh’s practice squad the last three seasons. He has managed to get himself elevated to the gameday roster a few times during that span.
Last season, White was promoted from the practice squad once and logged 10 offensive snaps and nine more on special teams. He registered one catch in 2022 for 2 yards. He will turn 25 in November.
As for Butler, who struggled with drops during training camp, the Steelers signed him to their offseason roster in the middle of May after he posted a nice 2023 season in the XFL as a member of the St. Louis Battlehawks. Butler, a fourth-round selection of the Arizona Cardinals in 2019, registered 51 receptions for 599 yards and eight touchdowns with the Battlehawks on his way to earning All-XFL honors.
As for Butler’s NFL experience to date, he hasn’t done much as he’s yet to register a reception in just two games played with just one offensive snap on his resume. The Iowa State product also has played just 29 total special teams snaps in the NFL.
