Steelers Release Veteran Wide Receiver

The Pittsburgh Steelers have released wide receiver Anthony Miller, the team announced on Tuesday.

Miller, 28, joined the Steelers in 2021, playing in one game as a practice squad elevation. He re-signed with the team in 2022 and was in the midst of a strong training camp when an injury during practice on Aug. 11 ended his season.

The Steelers brought Miller back again on a one-year contract for 2023, and he was expected to compete to be the starting slot wide receiver. But the traded for Allen Robinson II to fill that role just before the 2023 NFL Draft. Still, he could compete for a spot but was hampered early on in the offseason.

Miller dealt with a hamstring injury throughout OTAs and minicamp, severely limiting his availability throughout the programs, and second-year receiver Calvin Austin III seemed to entrench himself as the team’s fourth wide receiver. As a result. Miller fell out with the team’s receiving competition and is on the wrong end of the stick.

“Thank You Pittsburgh,” Miller wrote in a Tweet on Monday afternoon.

In addition to releasing Miller, the Steelers cut safety Scott Nelson on Friday to make room for two new additions, the signing of inside linebacker Nick Kwiatkoski and long snapper Rex Sunahara.

Miller was a second-round pick of the Chicago Bears in the 2018 NFL Draft and spent his first three NFL seasons in Chicago, where he caught passes from current Steelers backup quarterback Mitch Trubisky and played with wide receiver Allen Robinson.

With the Bears from 2018-20, Miller played in 47 games and made 17 starts. He caught 134 passes for 1,564 yards and 11 touchdowns, while averaging 7.3 yards per target. In 2021, Miller was traded from the Bears to the Houston Texans in July. He played in two games with Houston, making five catches for 23 yards and a touchdown, before being released on Oct. 6.