Steelers Waive RB Anthony McFarland Jr.
PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Steelers are set to release running back Anthony McFarland, Jr. as part of the team’s final four cuts to get under the 53-man roster limit by 4 p.m. on Tuesday.
McFarland was in a battle with Benny Snell Jr. and Jaylen Warren to be the Steelers’ backup running back. Snell, Warren and fullback Derek Watt remain on the team’s roster. The Steelers previously cut Mateo Durant and Max Borghi from the running back group.
The Steelers’ fourth-round pick in the 2020 NFL Draft, McFarland was used sparingly in his two NFL seasons. McFarland played in 11 games as a rookie in 2021, but did not make much of a dent in the team’s established backfield rotations. He totaled 33 carries for 113 yards on the season on the ground and added six catches of nine targets for 54 yards. He was inactive for the Steelers’ playoff game against Cleveland.
In 2021, he seemed poised for a greater role, but an MCL injury in training camp de-railed McFarland’s second NFL season before it ever got started. He spent the first six weeks of the season on injured reserve and then played in just two games after that, totaling three carries for three yards and one catch for 11 yards.
McFarland emerged as a rotational player at Maryland as a redshirt freshman in 2018, when he rushed for 1,034 yards and was named an All-Big Ten selection, an honor he repeated in 2019, when he totaled just 614 yards but added eight touchdowns.
If McFarland clears waivers, he is a candidate to be re-added to the Steelers’ practice squad. Teams can begin adding players to their practice squads on Wednesday.
The Steelers made 24 cuts earlier in the day and still have three more cuts to make to get down to the 53-man roster limit by the 4 p.m. deadline.
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