Steelers Make Surprise Cut, Drop Veteran Defensive Back
The Pittsburgh Steelers surprisingly cut DB Josiah Scott on Monday. Scott began the offseason as the team's starting slot cornerback.
The Pittsburgh Steelers have released veteran defensive back Josiah Scott, according to a report by Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.
Scott had been the Steelers’ first-team slot cornerback throughout OTAs and minicamp, but had lost that job to rookie undrafted free agent Beanie Bishop coming into training camp. Scott had mostly been with the second team through the first four days of camp.
The 25-year-old Scott was on his second stint with the Steelers. He first joined the Steelers after training camp last summer, but suffered an injury and ended up on their practice squad’s injured reserve list. The Philadelphia Eagles, where Scott played in 29 games from 2021-22, then re-signed Scott from the Pittsburgh practice squad. After his contract was not renewed for the 2024 season, the Steelers snapped him back up in late January.
The Steelers started the spring with Scott, Thomas Graham and Bishop in competition for the slot cornerback role. Since then, the Steelers have added veteran Grayland Arnold and re-signed veteran Cam Sutton, though he will be suspended for the first eight weeks of the 2024 season.
But the biggest likely cause of Scott’s release is likely the emergence of Bishop, who has taken nearly all of the first-team slot cornerback reps through the first four days of training camp. The Steelers have also utilized their Heavy Nickel alignment, putting strong safety DeShon Elliott into the box and bringing in Damontae Kazee as the fifth defensive back.
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A 5-foot-9, 185-pound defensive back, Scott was a fourth-round pick out of Michigan State by the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2020. He played in six games with the Jags as a rookie, but the following May was traded to the Eagles for Jameson Houston.
With Philly, Scott played in 13 games in 2021, mostly on special teams. He played 171 snaps of special teams and 90 snaps of defense, finishing the season with 12 tackles in all situations, one sack, one tackle for loss and one quarterback hurry. His role grew significantly in 2022, as he played in 16 of 17 games and made four starts. He finished the season with 26 tackles, two tackles for a loss, eight passes defended and two interceptions.
The Steelers now have one open spot on their 90-man offseason roster, heading into Tuesday’s first padded practice of training camp.
Pittsburgh Steelers 2024 Transactions Tracker
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