On the heels of the news that the Pittsburgh Steelers plan to release CB Desmond King, they intend to replace him with rookie CB Darius Rush. Per NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero, the team intends to sign Rush off the Kansas City Chiefs’ practice squad.
To make room for Rush, it appears the team is moving on from CB Desmond King either by trade or more likely, by releasing him. Rush won’t be added until there’s a resolution on King’s status though that’s likely to be figured out within the next 24 hours, if not sooner.
Rush was brought in by the Steelers for a pre-draft visit on April 6 as they showed interest in plenty of the top cornerbacks in this year’s class. He was drafted by the Indianapolis Colts in the fifth round of this year’s draft but surprisingly failed to make their 53-man roster. He was claimed by the Kansas City Chiefs but waived one month ago and signed to the practice squad.
A former wide receiver, Rush was a talented but often injured corner at South Carolina. In 2022, he recorded 38 tackles and picked off a pair of passes. Check out our full report on him below. Here was our conclusion to our report.
“Overall, Rush is an impressive prospect who is an “A” athlete. Though his technique needs some work, he doesn’t have a ton of experience starting at corner and his game should grow. He’s best in more man-heavy schemes. Rush is excellent Day Two value if the Steelers don’t take a corner in the first round. My NFL comp for him is Shaquill Griffin.”
Rush tested as a strong athlete coming out of the draft.
You can also check out the Senior Bowl interview our Jonathan Heitritter held with Rush.
Pittsburgh will have to make more roster moves later in the week should they choose to activate WR Diontae Johnson and/or RB Anthony McFarland Jr. off injured reserve for Sunday’s game against the Los Angeles Rams. Johnson is expected to return while McFarland has good odds of joining him.
