Steelers Cutdown Day 2023
Acrisure Stadium as seen from the Point State Park Fountain on May 22, 2023. (Photo by Jason Newman)
It’s cutdown day.
The Steelers have trimmed their roster down from 90 to 53 players over the last several days, ahead of today’s deadline.
We have to acknowledge how tough this day is for so many NFL hopefuls, and my thoughts are with everyone who got tough news today across the league. Here’s to hoping that they find success either in another NFL city, or in other facets of life. With that being said, we are one step closer to regular season NFL football, and I am absolutely stoked.
We can certainly expect more changes to the roster before our first game against the San Francisco 49ers on September 10th, but here is who we’ve let go of so far:
QB Tanner Morgan | RB Darius Hagans | RB Greg Bell | RB Xazavian Valladay | RB John Lovett
WR Ja'Marcus Bradley | WR Jordan Byrd | WR Dez Fitzpatrick | WR Hakeem Butler | WR Cody White
WR Dan Chisena | WR Aron Cruikshank | TE Zach Gentry | TE Rodney Williams | OL Le'Raven Clark
OL Ryan McCollum | OL William Dunkle | DT James Nyamwaya | DL Manny Jones | DL Breiden Fehoko
DL Jonathan Marshall | LB Kuony Deng | LB Tanner Muse | LB David Perales | LB Quincy Roche
LB Nick Kwiatkoski | LB Toby Ndukwe | LB Forrest Rhyne | CB Isaiah Dunn | CB Lavert Hill
CB Luq Barcoo | CB Chris Wilcox | S Jalen Elliott | S Kenny Robinson | S Tre Norwood
DB Madre Harper | DB Nevelle Clarke | DB Trenton Thompson | K B.T. Potter | LS Rex Sunahara
Arguably the most notable cut that came out today was NT Breiden Fehoko. The Steelers signed Fehoko back in April following his stint with the Los Angeles Chargers, where he went back and forth from their practice squad to their active roster. He appeared in 17 games with the Chargers over a two-year span and was best known for his massive frame and run stopping ability. He had a great camp with the Steelers, but struggled in the preseason. He will find work in the NFL either in another jersey or on our practice squad, more than likely. However, with our depth on the D-line, he likely just barely missed the cut. Instead, rookie Keeanu Benton and Montravius Adams will handle NT responsibilities for now.
Another significant casualty coming out of cutdown day was DB Tre Norwood and Trenton Thompson. At the start of camp, I would have predicted that Tre Norwood would be in a Steelers uniform this year, but a lingering calf injury likely killed his chances of making the initial 53. We brought in the hard-hitting S Trenton Thompson after placing rookie CB Cory Trice Jr. on season-ending IR. He made a solid case for himself to make the team, and probably would have if not for our depth at the safety position. I hope to see one or both of these men on our practice squad.
One thing I mentioned last week following the Falcons game was the battle for slot corner between Elijah Riley and Chandon Sullivan. I’m extremely excited to see that both men have secured a spot on our roster for right now. I’d love to see both of these men in uniform week one.
Much to my surprise, we also held on to WR Gunner Olszewski and Miles Boykin. Given the productivity by Calvin Austin III in the return game this preseason, I didn’t anticipate both of these guys getting roster spots at this point. I find it hard to see much of a role for either one of them barring an injury to Calvin Austin. *knocks on wood*
Just a few hours before teams were required to release their 53-man rosters, the Steelers traded OL Kendrick Green to the Houston Texans for a sixth-round pick in the 2025 NFL draft. I’m amazed we were able to get this deal done, considering Green was probably going to be a free agent after that 4 pm ET deadline. All hail Omar Khan.
One last thing: my heart is sad that we released TE Zach Gentry today. He’s a hell of run blocker and his camaraderie with Pat Freiermuth has brought me a lot of joy. I’ll miss him on the field and on Grillin’ N’ Chillin’. I hope to see a whole lot more of him in the NFL.
12 more days until we’re watching Steelers’ regular season football.
HERE.WE.GO.
Subscribe to receive email notifications about new posts and follow me on socials for more Dos Equis-fueled overreactions about the Steelers.
