Steelers Now
PITTSBURGH — Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin did not hold back when asked about the reason for safety Juan Thronhill’s release.
“The play wasn’t up to snuff,” Tomlin said. “And Castro was available to us, and we went through the team development process with Castro. We thought he had a good camp, good preseason, and he played his tail off in that practice against the Bucs. That’s why they stole him from us and we had an opportunity to reacquire him. It was an opportunity to get him back.”
The veteran safety was waived on Monday evening in a move that corresponded with the team bringing back Sebastian Castro, who’d initially signed in Pittsburgh as an undrafted free agent this past spring.
“It’s been real Pittsburgh,” Thornhill wrote on his Instagram story with peace sign emoji and a praying hands emoji.
Over the past three weeks, Thornhill had only registered two total tackles. He’d only been used on special teams over the Steelers last two outings, as the team added Kyle Dugger via a trade with the New England Patriots and slid Jalen Ramsey to the back end as injuries piled up.
Thornhill made waves during training camp by laying out sky-high expectations for the defense, which had added three-time Associated Press All-Pro Jalen Ramsey as part of a revamped secondary.
“I think it could be one of the best of all time,” Thornhill said. “And I’m putting that in the air right now — one of the best of all time.”
Thornhill made one start for the unit, against the Seattle Seahawks in Week 2, and played every defensive snap in the 31-17 loss. Thornhill’s defensive participation dipped the next week at New England, with defensive coordinator Teryl Austin using Chuck Clark and Jabrill Peppers in the 21-14 win.
Over the next two matchups, Thornhill played 65.8% of the team’s defensive snaps in Ireland against the Minnesota Vikings and 86.6% against the Cleveland Browns, the team that cut him loose following last season.
Thornhill started his odyssey as the Kansas City Chiefs’ second-round pick in the 2019 NFL Draft. He started 52 games for Andy Reid’s crew over four seasons, winning a pair of Super Bowl rings, before spending two campaigns with the Browns.
Castro was originally signed as an undrafted free agent out of Iowa in April. He spent the entire training camp and preseason with the team. One of his calling cards at Iowa was his versatility as a slot defender and safety.
After the preseason, Castro was cut in the final roster trimmings but was brought back to the team’s practice squad. On September 30th, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers signed him off the Steelers’ practice squad.
The Buccaneers released Castro on Saturday, and the Steelers claimed him off waivers on Monday.
During his time in Tampa, Castro played in just one game and recorded a tackle against San Francisco in a 30-19 victory.
Alan Saunders and Brenden Howe contributed reporting for this story.
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