5 things the Steelers need to do with the NFL Draft over

3. Steelers need to cut Ahkello Witherspoon

I assume this deal is already in the works, but after the draft, the roster doesn’t look like a good place for former starter Ahkello Witherspoon. His Steelers career has been a weird one. They acquired him before the 2021 season by trade with the Seahawks and barely played him until the middle of the season.

His back half of 2021 was really good, prompting him to be resigned last year to a modest deal, before struggling on the field and ultimately getting benched and later injured. James Pierre and Levi Wallace both seemingly moved in front of him on the depth chart, so Witherspoon was already looking like an expensive fourth option.

The Steelers went out and drafted both Joey Porter and Cory Trice in the draft though, and both are prototypical big outside cornerbacks. Porter will certainly have a role early on, and while Trice will likely need some time before seeing the field, he seems like a good fit on special teams, something Witherspoon doesn’t do.

There is four million worth of cap savings in his deal as well. While not monumental, it is also too much for someone that isn’t going to be playing much. I doubt there is much of a trade market given how deep this cornerback draft class was, so Pittsburgh should just cut bait with Witherspoon now to free up some cap space.