Steelers make nine cuts after preseason finale

The 2021 preseason has come and gone for the Pittsburgh Steelers, who finished with a 3-1 record and its only loss coming in the finale, a 34-9 loss against the Panthers — and now, the Steelers are preparing to reach the NFL’s 53-man roster limit by cutting nine players, the team announced Saturday.

“I am appreciative of their efforts not only tonight but throughout this process and now we begin the decision-making time,” head coach Mike Tomlin said after the Steelers’ final preseason loss. “I am sure we will get started with that when we get back (to Pittsburgh).”

The NFL requires that teams trim down their rosters to 53 players by Tuesday, and the Steelers are now down to 71 after cutting tight end Marcus Baugh, running back Tony Brooks-James, cornerback Shakur Brown, wide receiver Anthony Johnson, safety Lamont Wade, wide receiver Matthew Sexton, cornerback Lafayette Pitts, defensive tackle T.J. Carter and guard Malcolm Pridgeon.

The Steelers’ nine cuts were in large part inexperienced NFL players, some of whom have not made a roster in their young careers.

Brooks-James was one of the more experienced of the nine, a former second-team All-Pac-12 selection at Oregon. The 5-foot-9, 190-pound wideout possesses immense speed and as an undrafted free agent eventually made the Steelers’ roster in 2019. Pitts was the only other that had regular-season playing time, as the 2016 undrafted free agent out of Pitt signed with the Dolphins in 2016. He made the team, and after one season with Miami, he played one with the Jacksonville Jaguars, two with the Buffalo Bills but has not made an NFL roster since 2018.

Brown, formerly a first-team All-Big Ten honoree at Michigan State, was signed to his first contract as an undrafted free agent this offseason. Jones has not yet made an NFL roster either, and he has spent two consecutive preseasons vying for a spot on the Steelers’ roster. Wade, a Penn State product, and Sexton, formerly a wideout at Eastern Michigan, signed their first contracts as undrafted free agents with the Steelers in May. Carter, formerly a Kentucky Wildcat signed with the Steelers after spending last year with the Saints and Cardinals’ practice squad. Pridgeon, a defensive end, played in 28 games and won two Big Ten championships in two seasons with Ohio State; an undrafted free agent, he has not yet made an NFL roster.