Justin Layne the lone Steelers roster cut to be picked up off waivers

When the Pittsburgh Steelers had to trim their roster from 80 players to the league-mandated 53, there were tough decisions to make. Players they liked, but couldn’t keep, for obvious reasons. This meant some talented players would be released, and exposed to the waiver wire. Once that happened, teams could put in a waiver claim to see if they could acquire some of the recently cut players around the NFL.

Of all the players who were cut by the Steelers Tuesday, only one has been claimed off waivers, and that would be cornerback Justin Layne. Layne, although being labeled as a linebacker in Adam Schefter’s tweet below, is a cornerback who will now be taking his talents to the Big Apple to play for the New York Giants.

Layne was selected in the third round of the 2019 NFL Draft by the Steelers with the 83rd overall pick. The Steelers had two selections in the third round in 2019 with the first being Diontae Johnson at pick No. 66.

In three years and Pittsburgh, Layne never started a game for the Steelers. Although he appeared in 43 games, he did not get a single defensive snap his rookie season with 93 plays on special teams in 10 games. 2020 saw the most usage out of Justin Layne with 117 snaps on defense and 261 on special teams. In 2021, Layne only saw 28 defensive snaps along with 245 on special teams. In all, Justin Layne had one fumble recovery and 41 combine tackles with no passes defensed in his three seasons in Pittsburgh according to Pro Football Reference. Layne was credited with giving up one touchdown in 2020.

The Steelers now turn their attention to signing 16 players to their practice squad, and moving players to the Injured Reserve (IR) list. All of that news will be coming today, Wednesday, so be sure to stay tuned to BTSC for the latest news and notes surrounding the Steelers as they prepare for the regular season.