What the release of Kyron Johnson might mean for the Steelers

One of the finalists for Pittsburgh Steelers preseason stud of 2024 was outside linebacker Kyron Johnson. But it turns out Johnson was on the wrong end of the numbers game as NFL reporter Aaron Wilson is reporting that the Steelers are releasing Johnson.

Johnson is a likely candidate for the Steelers to re-sign to the practice squad but as Wilson pointed out, there could be some NFL teams looking to sign him to their 53-man rosters and it would be tempting.

Why would the Steelers release Johnson after such a strong camp and preseason? There are a couple of ways to look at it.

First off, Nick Herbig is turning into a star right before our eyes. Pittsburgh typically rotates three edge defenders so Herbig is going to take most of the reps after T.J. Watt and Alex Highsmith.

The Steelers also have two other players who can more than fill a similar role. Jeremiah Moon had a big preseason as well and is similar enough to Johnson keeping either guy makes sense.

Then there is DeMarvin Leal. The Steelers have made it no secret they want to use him as an oversized outside linebacker and he’s answered the call. We love what we’ve seen from Leal and he could make Moon expendable as well.