After drafting two safeties, Steelers waste little time releasing J.J Wilcox

Although abrupt, the feeling among Pittsburgh Steelers fans when they saw the following news had to be the same, “Took long enough!”

Yes, after the team drafted Terrell Edmunds from Virginia Tech in the first round, and Marcus Allen from Penn State in the fifth round of the 2018 NFL Draft, the writing was on the wall for veteran safety J.J. Wilcox.

The team just didn’t need him, or his inflated salary, any longer.

The move will save the Steelers roughly $3.1 million dollars in salary cap space, something they desperately need. Unfortunately for Wilcox, he will be remembered more for his special teams blunders than any jarring hits or big time plays.

With Wilcox gone, the Steelers’ safety depth chart now looks like this:

Sean Davis
Morgan Burnett
Terrell Edmunds
Marcus Allen
Jordan Dangerfield
Nat Berhe

When you look at the numbers, it was clear Wilcox just didn’t fit anymore. The team had reportedly told Wilcox this winter they wanted to keep him around, likely as an insurance policy, but after the draft played out the way it did...his services weren’t needed anymore.

Stay tuned to BTSC for the latest on the black-and-gold as the team approaches offseason workouts and the 2018 regular season.