By the end of business on Tuesday, the Pittsburgh Steelers and every NFL franchise must have their rosters trimmed down from 80 to the mandatory 53 ahead of the start of the regular season.
On Saturday, the Steelers announced the first nine players to be released. Here’s the list according to the team:
TE Marcus Baugh
RB Tony Brooks-James
WR Mathew Sexton
WR Anthony Johnson
CB Shakur Brown
CB Lafayette Pitts
S Lamont Wade
DT T.J. Carter
G Malcolm Pridgeon
The only surprise on this list is Sexton who looked like a guy who might be able to stick around on special teams. Then he went and had a dreadful game on Friday against the Carolina Panthers and probably played himself right out of a job. Brown was the big name among the undrafted free agents as many pundits had a draftable grade on the former Michigan State cornerback. However, he struggled throughout the preseason and could be a candidate to bring back on the practice squad.
