3 veterans the Steelers could cut after NFL Draft

Entering the first-round, the Steelers were heavily expected to take a running back, considering the team’s rushing attack was abysmal this past season. Sure enough, the Steelers took Alabama stud running back Najee Harris with the 24th-overall pick.

Harris is coming off an incredible season with the Crimson Tide, where he tallied 1,466 yards and a staggering 26 touchdowns on 251 carries. In Alabama’s 52-24 National Championship win over Ohio State, Harris accumulated 79 yards and two touchdown on the ground in 22 carries, while also grabbing 79 yards in the air for a score on seven catches.

With Harris being the undisputed three-down starter for the Steelers in 2021 to take the pressure off Roethlisberger’s shoulders, that means a running back will undoubtedly be shown the door. Out of Kalen Ballage, Benny Snell and Anthony McFarland Jr., Ballage may have the higher probability of getting cut.

The Steelers signed Ballage to a one-year, $920,000 deal after spending this past season with the New York Jets and Los Angeles Chargers. In 2020, Ballage tallied 303 rushing yards and three touchdowns on 91 carries, along with 166 receiving yards on 29 catches.

If the Steelers choose to move on from Ballage via release, they will take on zero dead money and free up the full $920,000 in cap space before or after June 1.