PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Steelers released former Penn State linebacker Marcus Allen as part of the team’s final cuts to get down to 53 players on Tuesday afternoon.
Allen has been with the Steelers since being selected in the sixth round of the 2018 draft. He was also cut by the Steelers before the 2019 campaign, but has stayed around the organization.
After spending most of 2019 on the practice squad and he moved from safety to inside linebacker in 2020, when thanks to injuries, Allen took on an increased role and started two games. Last season, he became a regular on special teams and ended up playing in 16 of the Steelers’ 18 games.
Before coming to the Steelers, Allen played safety at Penn State, with his most famous play being his blocked field goal against Ohio State in 2016 that Grant Haley picked up and returned for the game-winning touchdown of Penn State’s biggest win under James Franklin to date.
Allen finished his career at Penn State with the fifth most tackles in school history. His last season in Happy Valley was his best one, as he earned third team All-America honors and made first-team All-Big Ten. In his last game, Allen was named Fiesta Bowl defensive MVP, helping Penn State to a win over Washington.
Although he didn’t make the Steelers’ 53-man roster, Allen could return to the Steelers as a member of the practice squad or as a member of the active roster once players can be added to the injured reserve list starting on Wednesday.
The Steelers have four inside linebackers remaining on their active roster in starters Myles Jack and Devin Bush, Robert Spillane and rookie Mark Robinson. The team kept six inside linebackers on their active roster throughout last season. Buddy Johnson was also released as part of the team’s 24 cuts earlier on Tuesday.
Allen signed a restricted free agent tender with the Steelers over the offseason worth $2.54 million. His release will not cause the Steelers to incur any dead salary cap hit.