The Pittsburgh Steelers have officially released CB Desmond King, the team announced Wednesday. In a corresponding move, the team signed rookie CB Darius Rush off the Kansas City Chiefs’ practice squad.
Pittsburgh moving on from King was first reported last night by NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero. The reporting said he would be cut if the team could not trade him and evidently, the Steelers were unable to flip him to another team. Releasing him was always the far more likely outcome.
Signed after being cut by the Houston Texans at the end of August, King played just one defensive snap through the first five weeks. That came in the Week Five win over the Baltimore Ravens, a touchdown run by RB Justice Hill. King also returned four kickoffs for an average of just 22 yards with a couple of questionable decisions to run the ball out of the end zone.
Rush is a rookie corner out of South Carolina. Drafted by the Indianapolis Colts in the fifth round, he surprisingly failed to make their 53-man roster and was cut as they trimmed their roster from 90 to 53. The Kansas City Chiefs picked him up and had him on their practice squad until the Steelers poached him. An athletic, man-cover corner, Rush is raw and was plagued by injuries in college but is a toolsy outside corner with good size and length.
The Steelers’ roster remains at 53. More roster decisions will come later this week if they choose to activate WR Diontae Johnson and RB Anthony McFarland Jr. off injured reserve. Those moves, should they happen, will occur on Saturday.
