2020 Steelers Season Recall: Roster cuts and additions as the regular season looms

by Joe Kuzma (joe_kuzma) on April 7, 2021

Steel City Underground presents our 2020 Steelers Recall: a look back at Pittsburgh Steelers games and storylines from last season.

As an unconventional training camp concluded, the 2020 edition of the Pittsburgh Steelers sought to get the regular season underway. As part of the late summer activities continued, the business end of football reared its head with an unforgiving tradition of cutting the roster down to 53 players.

Typically, an offseason NFL roster is composed of 90 players. However, with the season already altered due to the pandemic, teams were only permitted to enter camp with 80 total names on the roster. Among the total of 27 players who were let go is as follows:

QB Paxton Lynch
RB Kerrith Whyte Jr.
RB Trey Edmunds
RB Wendell Smallwood
WR Saeed Blacknall
WR DeAndre Thompkins
WR Deon Cain
WR Amara Darboh
WR Ryan Switzer
OL Christian DiLauro
OL John Keenoy
OL Derwin Gray
OL Anthony Coyle
OL Jarron Jones
TE Kyle Markway
TE Kevin Rader
DL Cavon Walker
DL Henry Mondeaux
DL Calvin Taylor
DL Daniel McCullers
LB Tuzar Skipper
LB Jayrone Elliott
DB Trajan Bandy
DB John Battle
DB Antoine Brooks Jr.
P Corliss Waitman
LS Liam McCullough

Among the surprise names included rookie Antoine Brooks Jr., Deon Cain, Daniel McCullers, and the most polarizing offseason player (for some odd reason) Ryan Switzer.

Many of the players listed would return as part of an expanded practice squad. Yet, “making” the roster is never a safe proposition for those near the bottom of the 53-man roster.

Two more players would be released the following day, with QB Devlin Hodges and S Curtis Riley parting ways so the Steelers could re-sign two of their own former players who were released from other rosters around the league.

The first re-addition to the depth chart would be Hodges’ replacement as one of the three quarterbacks typically allotted: Joshua Dobbs.

Originally drafted by the Steelers in 2017, Dobbs was released by the Jacksonville Jaguars as part of their roster cutdown. Similarly, S Sean Davis was drafted in the second round by the Steelers in 2016. After signing with Washington in the offseason, he would also be released as teams trimmed down to 53 players.

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The Steelers swooped in and grabbed each former prospect, during a time where players had little to no acclimation period with their teams: let alone new teams. Dobbs and Davis both spent years in the Steelers system and could be instantly plugged in on game days as necessary. (This may not have been likely with a player coming in with a clean slate and zero experience with their new surroundings.)

As for those released, many found their way back to the Steelers practice squad, including Duck Hodges. The full list of those signed back to the expanded practice squad for 2020 included: