Steelers Release Depth WR after Lackluster Preseason

Chris Ward |

Updated: Aug 27, 2024

Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Duece Watts during a training camp practice on July 30, 2024. -- Ed Thompson / Steelers Now

The Pittsburgh Steelers have released wide receiver Duece Watts, the team announced on Tuesday afternoon. Watts struggled to gain any ground during training camp and the preseason. In three preseason games, Watts had two catches for 14 yards.

Watts was originally signed by the Green Bay Packers as an undrafted free agent following the 2023 NFL Draft but was released as a part of the Packers final roster cuts last August.

The Steelers picked him up in late September and he stayed with the team throughout the conclusion of the season. While he was not elevated for any of the team’s games last season, he showed enough as a part of the Steelers scout team to warrant a reserve/future contract for the upcoming season.

Watts, a 6-foot-1, 196-pound Chicago native, got his college start at Jones College, a junior college in Mississippi. After two seasons at Jones, he transferred to Tulane for the final three seasons of his collegiate career.

At Jones College, Watts earned All-MACJC honors following his second season. In that season, Watts hauled in 24 passes for 416 yards and two touchdowns. He helped lead Jones to a spot in the MACJC playoffs and recorded a 100-yard game against Northwest Mississippi.

In his first season with the Green Wave, Watts played in 12 games and recorded 31 receptions for 512 yards and six receiving scores. The next season, Watts’ volume went down as he caught just 21 balls for 331 yards and three touchdowns in 2021. In 2022, which was his most prolific season in a Tulane uniform, he caught 33 passes for 657 yards, which is 19.9 yards per catch, and scored seven touchdowns.

During his final season as a member of the Green Wave, Watts helped lead Tulane to a Cotton Bowl victory against Heisman winning quarterback Caleb Williams and the USC Trojans.

In total over his three season as a Green Wave, Watts hauled in 85 passes for 1,500 yards and 16 touchdowns.