Steelers make their next round of cuts to get to 80 players, release Chris Oladokun

Much like the 2021 season, NFL teams will be cutting down their preseason rosters by five players following each of the first two weeks of the preseason. With the deadline of 4 PM on Tuesday for teams to get to 80 players, the Steelers have announced their roster moves to be compliant with the NFL regulations.

Here are the players who were let go to trim the roster down to 80 on Tuesday:

Players released:

LB Genard Avery
WR Christian Blake
RB Mataeo Durant
QB Chris Oladokun
K Nick Sciba

While these cuts of five players each week generally don’t raise any areas of concern, this list of players by the Steelers does contain some surprises. What might be the biggest surprise is the Steelers releasing veteran linebacker Genard Avery. Signed by the Steelers this offseason, Avery brought four years of experience as a former fifth-round draft pick of the Cleveland Browns in 2018. And despite missing the Steelers first preseason game, Avery had the second-highest grade on the defense by Pro Football Focus while playing 30 snaps in the Steelers second preseason contest.

Another big surprise on this list is that the Pittsburgh Steelers parted ways with one of their 2022 draft picks. The Steelers second pick in the seventh round at selection 241, quarterback Chris Oladokun from South Dakota St. was one of the five players cut on Tuesday. Throughout training camp, Oladokun was not given an opportunity to work in team drills up until the final week where he did some work with the scout team.

As for the remaining three players released, they are much less of a surprise. There was a little chance kicker Nick Sciba was going to surpass Chris Boswell and his new contract extension. By releasing Sciba in this round of cuts, he has the opportunity to catch on with another team in hopes of winning a job.

As for running back Mateo Durant and wide receiver Christian Blake, neither player was able to show much throughout the preseason as they were buried on the depth chart. Christian Blake appear in both preseason games for the Steelers and had one reception for 7 yards in the game against the Seahawks. As for Mataeo Durant, he only saw three carries for 11 yards in both preseason games and had a fumble in his only carry against Jacksonville.

While this appears to be the end of the line for these players with a Pittsburgh Steelers, there is the possibility for some to be picked up by other NFL teams and to get on the field for the final preseason game.

Stay tuned to Behind The Steel Curtain as the Pittsburgh Steelers prepare for their final preseason matchup on Sunday at Acrisure Stadium against the Detroit Lions.