The Pittsburgh Steelers have released defensive back Israel Mukuamu , the team announced on Monday. Mukuamu has not been practicing, so he could be waived with an injury desgination .
Mukuamu got injured during the team's practice on Aug. 15.
The Steelers signed Mukwuamu earlier this month. He had a sack for a loss of 12 yards in the Steelers' preseason win over the Green Bay Packers .
Mukuamu, 26, was a sixth round pick for Mike McCarthy 's Dallas Cowboys in the 2021 NFL Draft out of South Carolina. A 6-foot-4, 215-pound safety, Mukuamu has mostly been a special teams player in his five-year NFL career.
He appeared in four games as rookie with Dallas in 2021, and then became a regular in 2022, when he appeared in 15 contests and also made three starts. He became a key multi-phase special teamer for the Cowboys, working on kick return, kick coverage, punt return, punt coverage and field goal block units.
In 2024, he set a career high with 200 snaps on defense, playing as a slot cornerback, box safety, free safety and outside cornerback. H was targeted 15 times and allowed nine catches while making two interceptions, for a 46.7 passer rating against, per Pro Football Focus .
Despite that season, Mukuamu was released by the Cowboys last August. He caught on with the Carolina Panthers' practice squad and played in one game before being released in November.
Mukuamu was selected by the Columbus Aviators in the 2026 UFL Draft, but did not play in a game for the team.
The Steelers have been lacking in safety depth all season, with just-signed veteran Rayshawn Jenkins , seventh-round pick Robert Spears-Jennings and current and former undrafted free agents Devan Boykin , Sebastian Castro and Jack Henderson the only depth behind projected starters Jaquan Brisker and DeShon Elliott .
Alan Saunders contributed.
The post Steelers Cut Ties with Promising Defensive Back appeared first on Steelers Now .
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