5 players the Steelers were right to move on from in 2022

Steelers OT Zach Banner

Another really unfortunate situation with a player so many had high hopes for. Zach Banner completely turned his NFL career around with the Steelers. He was almost out of the league when he was brought into training camp. There, he slimmed down and flashed the ability to be a quality tackle. This turned into a pair of deals that the team signed him to where he was penciled in to be the right tackle.

Unfortunately, injuries held him back, as Banner only started about half of a game over the past two seasons. While there was hope that he could regain the form that had made the team so willing to bring him back, he was a necessary cut this offseason due to his price tag. This was even more apparent when the team re-signed Chukwuma Okorafor in the offseason, as they were clearly going with the healthier option for the position.

That all said, I don’t think this has to be the end of the line for Banner. If he proves he is healthy the team could bring him back to camp on a minimum deal. They are currently lacking tackle depth, and he knows the system. That doesn’t mean cutting him wasn’t necessary though, as the team needed to free up the cap space that they did when they released him. They couldn’t keep him at his price after the amount he had played over the past two seasons.