The Pittsburgh Steelers are releasing WR Quez Watkins, per ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler.
While Fowler’s tweet indicates a level of surprise over Watkins’ release, he didn’t have strong odds to make the 53-man roster. Watkins had a miserable showing in the team’s preseason opener against the Houston Texans, including a muffed punt return. He also had a mostly quiet training camp until putting in three impressive practices following the Texans game.
One of several wide receivers added this offseason, Quez Watkins was outplayed by Scotty Miller and didn’t carry the special teams value Dez Fitzpatrick or Calvin Austin III brought. A vested veteran, Watkins will not be subject to waivers. His release will carry a $167,500 dead money charge for the season.
A sixth-round pick in 2020 by the Philadelphia Eagles, Watkins has appeared in 49 games, making 25 starts. Last season, he caught only 15 passes for 142 yards and one touchdown.
Our post-camp evaluation gave him just a C-grade.
“Known for his speed, Watkins made big plays downfield, including a 50-yard diving catch from Justin Fields. He also made a nice adjustment down the seam on a throw intentionally behind him to cap off a two-minute drill, a 21-yard touchdown. His preseason opener against the Texans was a disaster as a punt returner, making one bad/conservative fair-catch decision before muffing and losing another with poor posture and technique.
He didn’t hang his head and responded with three quality practices to end training camp. By the end, he finished third on the team in yards and averaged nearly 15 yards per catch. But I don’t see a path for him ahead of the other guys. Maybe a practice squad veteran because his speed is a true calling card.”
It’s possible Pittsburgh brings Watkins back to the practice squad. He does have experience and still flashed plenty of speed to run behind cornerbacks in training camp. In three preseason games, Watkins caught one pass for 10 yards. He also added one rush for 6 yards. A fourth-down conversion in the finale against the Detroit Lions was negated by a penalty on OG Joey Fisher.
Miller and Fitzpatrick are competing for the final spots on the Steelers’ wide receiver depth chart. Pittsburgh could also explore outside additions in free agency or through trades.
Pittsburgh must trim its roster to 53 by 4 PM/ET Tuesday. Follow along our Steelers cutdown tracker for the latest roster subtractions. As of this writing, they must make 25 more moves to get down to 53.
