Steelers Now
The Pittsburgh Steelers have released wide receiver Lance McCutcheon, despite a strong close to his 2025 preseason.
McCutcheon started the preseason pushed down the depth chart at outside wide receiver, with Roman Wilson and Calvin Austin III getting reps on the outside, with the Steelers without a true Z wide receiver among the top group.
That pushed Brandon Johnson and Ben Skowronek down to the second team, and McCutcheon, who spent part of the 2024 season on the Steelers’ practice squad, down to the third unit, along with UDFA Roc Taylor.
Taylor was the player on that unit that got most of the hype throughout training camp, but he was released before the preseason finale against the Carolina Panthers last Thursday. Metcalf did not dress for that game, and neither did Austin, who was held out with an oblique injury. Johnson left early in the game with a foot/ankle injury, and McCutcheon took advantage.
He was targeted four times, catching three passes for 52 yards, including a 24-yard touchdown from Skylar Thompson in the second quarter that was the only time the Steelers found the end zone all night.
Skylar Thompson touchdown pass to Lance McCutcheon!
Watch on @NFLNetwork
Stream on @NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/9XMNYSsaxd— NFL (@NFL) August 22, 2025
That touchdown and strong overall preseason — he finished with five catches for 66 yards — didn’t stop McCutcheon from being part of the team’s second set of cuts on Monday.
A 6-foot-3, 202-pound native of Bozeman, Montana, McCutcheon joined the Steelers’ practice squad on Oct. 14 last season and stayed there until Nov. 12. In January, he was re-signed to a future contract for the 2025 season.
McCutcheon was released, along with 13 other players on Monday, as the Steelers cut down from 80 players to 67. They have 14 more cuts to make before Tuesday at 4 p.m.
RELATED: Pittsburgh Steelers 2025 Roster Cuts Tracker
This article originally appeared on Steelers Now: Steelers Release Wide Receiver Despite Strong Preseason
