The Pittsburgh Steelers are releasing S Ryan Watts, GM Omar Khan said in a statement today that the team posted on Twitter. Watts, who suffered a serious neck injury in the team’s preseason finale last season, is going to “discontinue playing football” after consulting with the Steelers’ medical team due to the injury.
“Unfortunately, today we are releasing Ryan Watts from our roster. After consulting with our medical team, medical experts, and Ryan’s representatives, we all agree that it is in Ryan’s best interest to discontinue playing football at this time. We will continue to support Ryan as he transitions to the next phase of his life,” Khan said in a statement.
Watts was a sixth-round pick out of Texas in the 2024 NFL Draft. Khan was uncertain on Watts’ future at the 2024 NFL Combine, saying that the team was excited about his progression he made last year but admitting that the nature of the injury was serious.
“We were really excited about Ryan’s progression last year. He just got better and better each week, and it was just unfortunate. He had a significant injury, and we’ll see how all that shakes out. But really disappointed how that ended for him because that young man was really trending in the right direction.”
Watts had surgery after the season, after spending the entirety of his 2024 season on IR. In an Instagram post ahead of surgery, Watts called 2024 “one of the hardest years of my life” but vowed to stay optimistic.
The situation with Watts shows the cruel realities of life in the NFL. A sixth-round pick who started off well in training camp and the preseason and seemed to be proving himself, his career ended in the blink of an eye with the game already basically over in the final preseason game of his rookie season. He had 13 total tackles, including nine solo tackles, in three games last preseason.
Watts played both cornerback and safety in a college career that saw him spend two years at Ohio State and two years at Texas.
With his release, the Steelers will have a $137,013 dead money charge. Ryan Watts could be released with a failed physical designation and could file for an injury protection benefit, which would hit Pittsburgh’s cap later this summer.
With Watts’ release, the Steelers currently have Minkah Fitzpatrick, DeShon Elliott, Juan Thornhill, undrafted free agent Sebastian Castro and Miles Killebrew at safety on the roster.
UPDATE (7:24 PM): Ryan Watts shared this photo and caption on his Instagram, ending with the caption, “you never know which play could be your last.”
