The Pittsburgh Steelers’ running back room is now one less player after the team announced the release of veteran Jonathan Ward Thursday afternoon.
Ward appeared in four games last season for the Steelers, carrying the football five times for 22 yards, appearing in games against the Dallas Cowboys, Las Vegas Raiders, New York Jets and New York Giants.
In those four games, Ward saw 10 snaps offensively and played 59 snaps on special teams.
Ward had been with the Steelers since last May, signing a one-year deal with the Steelers after earning a spot during rookie minicamp, a story he told during a recent appearance on the Christian Kuntz Podcast.
He played just 11 snaps in the preseason offensively but showed some burst as a runner. Ward rushed for 26 yards on six carries in the preseason opener against the Texans, and then didn’t record a touch in the second preseason game against the Buffalo Bills. He closed out the preseason with just one carry for 3 yards against the Detroit Lions.
Though he didn’t do enough to make the 53-man roster out of training camp, Ward showed enough to stick around. He bounced back and forth between the practice squad and the active roster early in the season before being signed to the 53-man roster in late October.
Ward was released just over a week later and was re-signed to the practice squad, where he remained for the rest of the 2024 season, leading to him signing a Reserve/Futures contract with the franchise on Jan. 20.
Since then, the Steelers have added veteran Kenneth Gainwell in free agency and running back Kaleb Johnson in the third round of the 2025 NFL Draft. Shoring up the running back room put Ward further down the depth chart, which ultimately led to his release Thursday afternoon.
The Steelers previously signed Trey Sermon after a rookie minicamp tryout and also added undrafted free agent Max Hurleman at the position. Veteran Evan Hull is also in the RB room entering training camp, as is veteran Cordarrelle Patterson.
With more than a month until players report to training camp in Latrobe on July 23, the move opens a roster spot, which the Steelers could use to sign a player out of the UFL or an NFL free agent. There’s also the possibility of a trade, as the Steelers are still searching for another playmaker offensively now that Aaron Rodgers is under center.
The Steelers were Ward’s fourth team in the NFL after stints with Arizona, the New York Jets and Tennessee. At 27 years old, he now looks for another opportunity in the league.
