Steelers Release Offensive Tackle

The Pittsburgh Steelers have released offensive tackle Jarrid Williams in order to make room for the official signing of linebacker Kwon Alexander, the team announced on Sunday.

Williams, 25, comes in at 6-foot-6, 310 pounds out of Miami, Florida. He spent his last two college years in 2020 and 2021 with the Hurricanes. Before that, Williams transferred in from Houston. Since coming into the league after the 2022 NFL Draft as an undrafted free agent, Williams joined the Eagles after the draft. He was released two times before joining the team’s practice squad.

Williams measured with plus 35-inch arms at Miami pro day, following the trend of tackles that join Pittsburgh with elite length. It seems to be one principle that Omar Khan and Andy Weidl are honing in on during their scouting process for players.

Once on there, Williams would suffer an injury that would cause him to be released once again. Then, he would sign with the Detroit Lions practice squad to end the season. However, Williams ended up signing a futures contract with the Eagles before being released in May, which led him to the Steelers. Joining the team in early June, Williams is now gone a little bit over a month into his tenure.

Meanwhile, Alexander passed his physical and is now officially a Pittsburgh Steeler, joining an inside linebacker room of Cole Holcomb, Elandon Roberts, Tanner Muse, Mark Robinson, Nick Kwiatkoski, and Chapelle Russell.

The 6-foot-1, 227-pounder was selected in the fourth round of the 2015 NFL Draft by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers out of LSU and started as a 21-year-old rookie for the Bucs. Alexander led the NFL with 108 solo tackles in 2016 and made his first and only Pro Bowl in 2017.

Injuries slowed him down after that, with a torn ACL costing him most of the 2018 season. After signing a four-year, $54 million free agent contract with the San Francisco 49ers in 2019, a torn pectoral muscle ended that season early.

Alexander was traded to the New Orleans Saints, and played 19 games over a season and half there before moving on to New York. Last season with the Jets, he played in all 17 games, making 12 starts, and recorded 69 tackles, six tackles for loss, a half sack, two quarterback hits, one forced fumble and one pass defended.