The Pittsburgh Steelers along with every team in the NFL were forced to cut down to 80 players on Tuesday by 4pm. Earlier today sources reported that one of those releases would be 7th round draft pick Chris Oladokun. Now we know the rest of the players released by the team today.
CLEVELAND, OH - NOVEMBER 14: Genard Avery #55 of the Cleveland Browns attempts to tackle Tony Brooks-James #40 of the Pittsburgh Steelers during the game at FirstEnergy Stadium on November 14, 2019 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Kirk Irwin/Getty Images)
Released were Oladokun, linebacker Genard Avery, running back Mataeo Durant, wide receiver Christian Blake, and kicker Nick Sciba.
The most surprising name of the bunch was Avery, who signed with the Steelers as a free agent from the Philadelphia Eagles early this off-season. Avery was vying for a backup linebacker spot, and a spot-on special team where he was a notable contributor for the Eagles. With the Steelers outside linebacker spots still wide open, and with Alex Highsmith still nursing an injury it must show that the coaching staff was very underwhelmed by Avery. Hamilcar Rashed Jr. was awarded first team reps on Monday ahead of Avery. Rashed Jr was recently claimed off waivers by the Jets.
The release of Sciba comes as a surprise to no one as Chris Boswell continues to be one of the best kickers in the NFL and just signed a new contract weeks ago. His early release will get him a chance to jump on with another team like Jacksonville who currently has zero kickers on their roster.
Durant was a priority undrafted free agent that had a lot of hype surrounding him heading into training camp. But with fellow undrafted free agent running back Jaylen Warren stealing the show during training camp he was the odd man out.
Blake was recently signed two weeks ago after being released by the Falcons. He was considered a large, long shot to make the team.
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