The NFL cutdown deadline is always a huge day in the NFL. Sadly, for many hopeful players, it's also a time when they learn that they will no longer be part of the team. Every NFL club was recently forced to cut their 90-man summer roster down to just 53 players. Though the Pittsburgh Steelers had made a few waves of cuts, they still needed to make 17 roster moves just hours before the deadline to be roster-compliant.
Omar Khan and his crew eventually got this done, and Pittsburgh had its initial 53-man roster in place. Unfortunately, some former draft picks will no longer be part of the plan moving forward. Here are three recent Steelers draft picks who were cut from the team at the roster deadline this year.
Steelers cut safety Tre Norwood
We could start to see the writing on the walls with this decision. Prior to being cut by the Pittsburgh Steelers at the deadline, Norwood struggled through minor injuries, and other defensive backs stepped up in his place.
Elijah Riley looked solid all summer and capped things off with a strong preseason. Like Norwood, Riley showcased the ability to play both safety and slot cornerback. It may have been Riley's sudden emergence that ultimately made Norwood expendable.
Norwood was a seventh-round draft choice back in 202. Because of his late-round draft status, Norwood wasn't guaranteed to make the roster as a rookie, but he did enough to impress the team with his versatility in the secondary. As a result, Nowrood dressed for all 17 games as a rookie and has played in 32 of 24 games over the past two years.
Norwood had a chance to make the Steelers roster for the third straight year, but the injury bug can be fatal for players on the roster bubble. Norwood will look to land back on his feet somewhere. He leaves the Steelers with 61 tackles, 4 passes defended, and 4 tackles for a loss in two seasons.