The Pittsburgh Steelers cut a couple of talented safeties as they trimmed their roster down to 53. Now those players are looking for jobs elsewhere. Tre Norwood and Kenny Robinson are hopping on the NFL tryout circuit. Both players worked out for the Buffalo Bills Tuesday, according to Houston Texans’ beat writer Aaron Wilson via the league’s transaction wire. They were two of several former Steelers trying out today around the league, joining C Ryan McCollum, OLB Quincy Roche, and LS Rex Sunahara.
Sunahara worked out for the Chicago Bears while McCollum and Roche worked out for the Carolina Panthers.
Norwood is the most notable name. A seventh-round pick of the team in 2021, he appeared in 32 games with the Steelers, recording 61 total tackles and intercepting one pass. A leg injury limited him throughout training camp and he didn’t get healthy until the team’s preseason finale, tanking his chances of making the final 53. Now, he’ll look to catch on elsewhere. He also recently visited with Tampa Bay.
Robinson was a camp darling who picked off three passes across 16 training camp practices. But he fizzled out inside stadiums and didn’t look nearly as impressive, making him an expected cut at the Tuesday deadline. Pittsburgh did not re-sign him to the practice squad, keeping Trenton Thompson instead.
Sunahara was supposed to offer competition to incumbent long snapper Christian Kuntz. But his camp was poor and Kuntz easily won the job with more consistent placement on his snaps. Sunahara has bounced on and off the roster and will look to be signed if another team’s long snapper gets hurt.
With the Steelers needing interior offensive line help, McCollum had sleeper potential entering the summer. But his play was below-the-line and though he had versatility playing center and either guard spot, he was easily beat out by rookie Spencer Anderson and Dylan Cook. Pittsburgh found outside names to fill out their practice squad in OG Joey Fisher and OT Kellen Diesch.
Roche was the team’s sixth-round pick in 2021 but he failed to make the initial 53, beaten out by Jamir Jones, and spent the rest of his rookie year with the New York Giants. There, he started three games and picked up 2.5 sacks. Pittsburgh brought him back this offseason but he had a quiet summer. With Nick Herbig and Markus Golden impressing, Roche had no path to the 53.
