Steelers Waive Veteran Cornerback After Injury

The Steelers have waived/injured cornerback Duke Dawson after he suffered a knee injury in their 27-17 win against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Friday, the team announced on Monday. Dawson was seen walking around the field on Sunday and did not practice, but did not have any obvious signs of a severe injury. Still, this will likely end his season as a result, and if he clears waivers he will revert to the Steelers’ injured reserve.

The move comes in tandem with two other moves. Pittsburgh signed Lavert Hill and will reportedly ink Nevelle Clarke, while waiving/injured Dawson and waiving Isaiah Dunn. As such, the turnover in the team’s cornerback room is stark and very real after a game where the depth cornerbacks seemingly struggled.

Dawson, 26, is a product of Florida who was a First-Team All-SEC selection in the 2017 season. At the 2018 NFL Combine, Dawson ran a 4.46 40-yard dash and benched 15 reps of 225 pounds. The 5-foot-10 cornerback worked out for teams as a slot cornerback and outside cornerback. He spent the 2022 season on Pittsburgh’s practice squad.

Dawson came into the NFL as the Patriots’ second-round draft pick in the 2018 NFL Draft. But he would only spend one season there, as he was traded to the Denver Broncos. Dawson played three seasons in Denver and was most recently on the Carolina Panthers practice squad. In his career, Dawson has 27 tackles, a fumble recovery, and a pass deflection. He won Super Bowl LIII as a member of the Patriots.

In his career, he has played outside cornerback, slot cornerback, and dimebacker. A versatile defensive back, Dawson last played in a game in 2020 with the Broncos, where he registered 175 snaps over the course of the season.