The unfortunate reality in the NFL is that there are thousands of players looking to make a 53-man roster, but 1,184 players who were fighting for their spot on the roster get disappointing news at the conclusion of the preseason. Tuesday was the day when teams had to reduce their roster to the 53-man limit. During the offseason they are allowed 90 players, meaning over 40 percent of the league gets shown the door at roughly the same time.
A certain portion of those released players will quickly get another opportunity, whether that is on a 53-man roster elsewhere or a practice squad. But countless others will be left without an opportunity and forced to get on with their life’s work.
Today, I wanted to look at all of the former Steelers who were cut around the NFL. Some of the names will be quite familiar to everybody, including multiple former first-round picks. Others might require a little jogging of the memory. Some of the players spent just a few days or weeks with their respective team while others were meaningful contributors at one point.
Below is the list of former Steelers who were cut, compiled from NFL.com’s roster cuts tracker. There were 34 total ex-Steelers that I found among 20 NFL franchises.
Buffalo Bills
– WR Deon Cain
Miami Dolphins
– RB Anthony McFarland Jr. (Steelers 2020 fourth-round pick)
New England Patriots
– OT Kellen Diesch
New York Jets
– RB Xazavian Valladay
Baltimore Ravens
– WR Anthony Miller
Cincinnati Bengals
– WR Hakeem Butler
– OL Nate Gilliam
– DT Carlos Davis (Steelers 2020 seventh-round pick)
Cleveland Browns
– LS Rex Sunahara
Houston Texans
– CB Desmond King II
Jacksonville Jaguars
– WR Denzel Mims
– LB/ST Tanner Muse
– DT Jonathan Marshall
– S Terrell Edmunds (Steelers 2018 first-round pick)
Tennessee Titans
– DE Abdullah Anderson
Kansas City Chiefs
– QB Chris Oladokun (Steelers 2022 seventh-round pick)
Las Vegas Raiders
– TE Zach Gentry (Steelers 2019 fifth-round pick)
New York Giants
– WR Allen Robinson II
– WR/ST Miles Boykin
Washington Commanders
– WR Martavis Bryant (Steelers 2014 fourth-round pick)
– QB Trace McSorley
– CB James Pierre
– C J.C. Hassenauer
Chicago Bears
– OT Aviante Collins
– P Corliss Waitman
Atlanta Falcons
– OL John LeGlue
New Orleans Saints
– OT Jesse Davis
Arizona Cardinals
– WR Dan Chisena
San Francisco 49ers
– OL Chris Hubbard
– DT Nick Williams (Steelers 2013 seventh-round pick)
– P Pressley Harvin III (Steelers 2021 seventh-round pick)
Seattle Seahawks
– WR Cody White
– CB Artie Burns (Steelers 2016 first-round pick)
– LB Easton Gibbs
