Pittsburgh Steelers release Keanu Neal after failed physical

Veteran NFL safety Keanu Neal was released by the Pittsburgh Steelers Thursday afternoon, according to the team’s official website.

A Steelers release noted that Neal failed a physical and that’s why he was being let go. Here was that report, as posted on the team site:

“The Steelers released safety Keanu Neal with the designation of Failed Physical on Thursday. Neal was placed on the Reserve/Injured List on Nov. 18 and stayed on it for the remainder of the season. Neal played in nine games in 2023, starting eight of them. He recorded 50 tackles, 33 of them solo stops, and had one interception. Neal was signed as an unrestricted free agent in 2023.”

NFL reporter Ari Meirov noted that the move will save Pittsburgh $2.25 million in cap space just ahead of free agency. Neal, aged 28, will now be a free agent heading into his ninth season in the league with stints at Pittsburgh, Tampa, Dallas and Atlanta under his belt.

More on the 2024 NFL offseason, free agency

The NFL 2024 calendar year begins at 4 p.m. ET on March 13. At that time, contracts running through 2023 officially run out, making those players free agents. Prior to the beginning of free agency, teams will have a chance to designate one franchise or transition tag player, starting on Feb. 20 at 4 p.m. ET and ending on March 5. Beginning March 11 through March 13 teams can enter into a legal negotiation with players who are set to become unrestricted free agents.

In addition to NFL free agency, the new year also marks the beginning of all trades being made official by the league office. April 19 marks the deadline to sign restricted free agents to offer sheets. On April 24, the deadline for teams to match restricted free agent offer sheets hits. Following the restricted free agent deadline follows the 2024 NFL Draft, which runs from April 25-27.

More on restricted, exclusive rights free agents

Players with only three years of accredited NFL experience become restricted free agents. Their original team will have the option to apply first-round, second-round, original-round, and right-of-fight-of-first-refusal tenders on players at escalating price tags. The higher the round, the more expensive the tender amount; however, if a separate team does offer a contract and the original team does not match that round pick will be conveyed from the new team to the original team. Right of first refusal only gives a team the option to match or not. 

If they don’t match, they get nothing in return. An original-round tender would send a draft pick from whatever round the player was drafted back to the original team if they chose not to match. The original team will have five days to match once a player signs an offer sheet from a new team.