Steelers Make Stunning Decision And Release Young Cornerback

The Pittsburgh Steelers are at the point of the season where they are putting certain parts of their roster together on the fly. On Tuesday morning, they signed Max Scharping to help out with depth along the offensive line after the season-ending injury suffered by James Daniels. 

Now, Pittsburgh has made a fairly surprising move by releasing cornerback Darius Rush, who has been a healthy scratch in Week 3 and Week 4.

Pittsburgh picked up Rush in the middle of the 2023 season, which happened to be his rookie year. He was a fifth-round pick of the Indianapolis Colts during the 2023 NFL Draft, but he was cut before the end of training camp. Eventually, he was picked up by the Kansas City Chiefs. He lived on their practice squad until he was signed off of it by the Steelers. The team announced multiple roster moves on Tuesday, which included the release of the second-year cornerback.

This move is a bit questionable. Cory Trice Jr. just hit Injured Reserve due to a hamstring injury, and depth at corner is rough behind Donte Jackson and Joey Porter Jr. The Steelers will probably be looking for some external help at the position, as they don't have many reliable options on the off chance an injury occurs. 

During Rush's time in Pittsburgh, he didn't contribute much on-field production, but he would have been a decent fourth cornerback on the depth chart. In 2023, he played three games for the Steelers and recorded three tackles and one timely pass breakup (which probably should have been intercepted). Something about this move is odd, however. He went from being a contributor on special teams and a depth piece, to a healthy scratch for two weeks. The Steelers chose to release him, despite the obvious hole it leaves at cornerback.

Now, the two backups Pittsburgh has at CB are James Pierre and Thomas Graham Jr. Both players will likely see some playing time unless Pittsburgh brings in some external help. Pierre will likely be used mostly as a special teams player, and both corners were recently called up from the practice squad. Pittsburgh's defense was stifling at the beginning of the season, and now there are serious holes that fans should be worried about.

Karl Roser / Pittsburgh Steelers

Former Steelers DBs Darius Rush and Patrick Peterson celebrate during the 2023 season.

There are still some names available on the free agent market the Steelers may look into. A reunion with former cornerback Patrick Peterson may even be on the table, assuming he is okay not taking on a starting role.