The Pittsburgh Steelers released linebacker Malik Harrison ahead of Sunday’s roster deadline, trimming a veteran from the defense as the club works toward the NFL’s initial 53-man limit by 6 p.m.
Tom Pelissero of Netflix Sports reported that Harrison was among the Steelers’ cuts, making the move a notable one because he signed a two-year, $10 million free agent contract before last season. That deal now ends after one year in which injuries limited him to 11 games and nine starts, with 41 tackles along the way.
For a player brought in to be part of the defense, the numbers tell the story of a season that never fully settled. Harrison was on the field for 20 snaps in the first preseason game, four in the second and none in the third, then finished the preseason with two tackles. The Steelers were thinning the roster toward the 53-man limit, and Harrison’s release puts him squarely on the list of players who did not do enough, or stay healthy enough, to hold their place.
What the team did not explain is as important as what it did. Harrison had been with the Steelers for one season, and the contract he signed was built to last longer than this result. Instead, the release turns him into a free agent again before the deadline even arrives, leaving his next move unsettled while the Steelers keep reducing a roster that no longer had room for him.
