The Pittsburgh Steelers released veteran cornerback Anthony Averett in a series of roster moves on Tuesday. Averett suffered a hamstring injury in the third quarter of Saturday night’s preseason game against the Buffalo Bills, and did not return. Averett got beat by Houston Texans wide receiver Tank Dell for a touchdown in the first preseason game.
The Steelers added a depth piece to their secondary through an unusual medium this offseason when they signed the six-year veteran Averett following a tryout at the team’s rookie minicamp in May. Averett, 29, played four seasons in Baltimore to begin his career which gives the Steelers that familiarity.
Averett did not expect to get a call to tryout for a team during the rookie minicamp phase but did not shy away from the opportunity as he tries to rejuvenate his career after a few tough injuries.
“Not really, I kind of just go. Yeah, I just go,” Averett said. “I mean, hey, rookie — didn’t really expect to be here my seventh year in, hey, you know, life takes you different, you know, different places.”
Since entering the NFL in 2018, Averett has been on a team’s injured reserve at least four times and has not played a complete season since leaving Alabama. For Averett, he understands why some teams are too worried to sign him but is thankful for the Steelers and this opportunity.
“I feel like teams were scared away just to touch me a little bit (because of injury) — but hey, Pittsburgh is not,” Averett said. “I am here, I’m healthy — and I’m ready to go. I am here to show it, that’s the point. … I had a couple injuries my last two years. I’m finally fully healthy and I’m definitely in shape. I’ve got plenty of juice left.”
Anthony Averett started the 2023 season with the San Fransisco 49ers but did not stick and was later signed to the Detroit Lions practice squad. He spent a majority of his season on the Lions practice squad and did not appear in any games.
The Baltimore Ravens drafted Averett in the fourth round of the 2018 NFL Draft. As a rookie, Averett played in 11 games, mainly as a special teams player as he played 47% of the Ravens special teams snaps that season, and he recorded five tackles and two defended passes.
In 2019, Averett started three of his nine appearances as he made 15 tackles. The 2020 season is when Averett began to deal with injury problems that have derailed his career. While he bounced back from a bummed shoulder in 2021 and had a career year, he spent the 2022 season on and off the injured reserve.
In his breakout 2021 season, Averett started all 14 of his appearances and recorded a career-high 54 tackles, 11 defended passes and three interceptions. Following that breakout season, Averett took his talents to Vegas to suit up in the black-and-silver. He started six of his seven appearances but failed to make a real impact.
Over his first six seasons in the NFL, Averett has played in 51 games and received 27 starts. He has amassed 114 tackles, 23 passes defended and three interceptions.