The most noteworthy Pittsburgh Steelers player released in the first round of cuts on Monday morning was defensive back Kiondre Thomas. Thomas signed a one-year, $915,000 deal with the Steelers on Aug. 15. He replaced Grayland Arnold on the 90-man offseason roster, after Arnold was placed on the injured reserve list.
Thomas, 26, spent the last two seasons with the Green Bay Packers. He has also spent time with the Cleveland Browns, Los Angeles Chargers, Carolina Panthers and Houston Roughnecks of the UFL.
A 6-foot, 186 pound defensive back, Thomas has mostly been an outside cornerback in his three seasons in the NFL. Arnold had been a slot cornerback and safety for the Steelers.
Thomas first joined the Cleveland Browns as an underaged free agent out of Kansas State in 2021. He was injured after playing in one preseason game and released, but spent time later that season on the Chargers practice squad.
After the 2022 season, Thomas signed with the Packers. He was released after training camp, and split the season between the practice squad and active roster without appearing in a game. In 2023, he started the season on the practice squad, but was released on Oct. 17.
Thomas played with the Houston Roughnecks of the UFL this spring. He recorded 14 tackles and had one interception over the 10-game spring season.
Thomas signed with the Carolina Panthers on July 26, but was waived a week later.
A Fort Smith, Arkansas native, Thomas spent four seasons at Minnesota before transferring to Kansas State for his redshirt senior season in 2020. In pre-draft testing, he showed excellent long speed, with a 4.44-second 40-yard dash, but below-average explosiveness, posting a 4.35-second short shuttle. His overall Relative Athletic Score was 7.28 out 10.
The Steelers released eight players on Monday morning. It’s the first wave of roster moves as they cut down from 91 players to a 53-man roster by Tuesday, Aug. 27 at 4 p.m. Additionally, it has been reported that the team released cornerback Kyler McMichael, though that was not officially announced.
STEELERS ROSTER CUT TRACKER
RB Daijun Edwards
WR Jacob Copeland
WR/KR T.J. Luther
OT Devery Hamilton
OG Tyler Beach
DT Marquiss Spencer
LB Kyahva Tezino
CB Kiondre Thomas
CB Kyler McMichael