The NFL roster cutdown day is now in the rearview mirror, and hundreds of previously employed players are left feeling the aftershock. The Pittsburgh Steelers started their roster cuts before most teams, but the vast majority of cuts around the league were made in one fell swoop in the minutes and hours leading up to the deadline to be roster-compliant.
Unfortunately, Pittsburgh had to let go of some quality football players as well. Though their recent losses shouldn't have any bearing on their win/loss total in 2023, it's sad to see a few players on the roster bubble not make the cut. Here are the three biggest surprises from Steelers roster cuts this year.
3. Steelers cut TE Zach Gentry
I never penciled Zach Gentry in as a roster lock of the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2023, but I did have him making the team in every edition of my 53-man roster prediction. Even with the addition of rookie, Darnell Washington, it seemed like it just made sense for Gentry to stick around.
Because the Steelers no longer have a true fullback (Derek Watt was never resigned during the 2023 free agency period) we assumed that, between fullback and tight end, Pittsburgh would still have room for four players. We knew that Pat Freiermuth, Darnell Washington, and Connor Heyward were all going to make the team, but we would have thought that Gentry would have been safe as well.
This obviously didn't prove to be the case. Though he outlasted all but one player from his 2019 draft class with the Steelers, Gentry will no longer be part of the team moving forward. Many Steelers fans loved his bubbly personality and knew him from his 'Grillin' and Chillin' segments with Pat Freiermuth. This move wasn't a total shock, but it was a bit surprising.