Steelers cut roster down to 79

by Josh Fitzer (TerribleJosh6) on August 28, 2016

It’s that time of year, the time for all 32 teams to cut their rosters from 90 to 75. Today, the Steelers began their cuts as they got their roster down to 79. All teams must get their roster size down to 75 by Tuesday at 4 pm.

Here’s all the moves the Steelers have made today:

Placed OT Jerald Hawkins on IR.
Waived/injured QB Dustin Vaughan.
Waived Jordan Zumwalt, Mike Reilly, Issac Blakeney, Levi Norwood, Michael Cooper, Giorgio Newberry, Khaynin Mosley-Smith, and Julian Whigham.

The question mark at the backup QB spot continues to linger. Although, it doesn’t surprise me one bit that Dustin Vaughan was waived. He really didn’t show anything in the pre-season, the Steelers weren’t going to keep him around. As more cuts keep coming, it’ll be interesting to see if the Steelers bring in a veteran QB off the waiver wire. And please, don’t suggest Michael Vick, that ship has sailed.

I’m really disappointed to hear that Jerald Hawkins season is already over. It’s always sucks to see a rookie have his season end before it began. Hawkins is a versatile tackle that can play both left and right ends. The Steelers are very high on this kid’s ability, let’s hope we can see him in the regular season next year.

I’m also not surprised about Jordan Zumwalt being waived. He was a sixth-round pick by the Steelers in 2014, and spent the ’14 and ’15 seasons on injured reserve.

Besides QBs, I’m anxious to see who gets released, from other teams, in the final cuts. Last year, the Steelers claimed Ross Cockrell off waivers, which proved to be a great move for them. Cockrell came in and contributed right away. I’m not saying he played amazing, but he played pretty well, considering he was only with the team for a short time.