Steelers Cut All-Pro Kick Returner on His Day Off

The Pittsburgh Steelers have released running back and kickoff returner Cordarrelle Patterson, the veteran announced via social media on Monday.

Patterson had not practiced with the team at all this year, sitting out most of the spring sessions with an undisclosed ailment. The Steelers chose not to place him on the physically unable to perform list at the start of training camp, but he sat out all four practices in the first week of camp.

The move will open a roster spot for the Steelers, who have been dealing with training camp injuries at outside linebacker (Jeremiah Moon), tight end (DJ Thomas-Jones) and tackle (Broderick Jones), and may need to replenish the roster on the team’s off day on Monday.

It will also save the club $2.8 million against its 2025 salary cap obligations, while incurring a $950,000 dead cap hit.

Patterson was signed by the Steelers in 2024, mostly because of his kick return prowess. In fact, his signing came just hours after the NFL instituted the new kickoff procedure that debuted last season. The four-time All Pro is NFL’s all-time leader with nine kickoff returns for touchdowns. But that signing never paid off the way the Steelers expected it to.

Patterson finished the season with a career-worst 21.8 yards per kickoff return average — dead last among the primary 32 kickoff returners in the NFL. He was fine as a depth running back option, carrying the ball 32 times for 135 yards (4.2 yards per carry) and catching 12 passes for 80 yards and a touchdown.

But the Steelers have since added rookie Kaleb Johnson and free agent Kenneth Gainwell to their running back rotation behind Jaylen Warren, meaning there would have been no role available for Patterson — especially at his elevated salary cap hit.

Gainwell is also a primary option to replace Patterson in the team’s kick return rotation, along with Patterson, wide receiver Roman Wilson and cornerbacks James Pierre and Beanie Bishop.

This article originally appeared on Steelers Now: Steelers Cut All-Pro Kick Returner on His Day Off