The Pittsburgh Steelers have released wide receiver Jakobie Keeney-James , the team announced on Friday.
Keeney-James is among the first wave of roster cuts . The Steelers have until 6 p.m. on Sunday, Aug. 30 to cut their roster down from the 91 players the team carried all offseason to the 53-man limit.
The Steelers released 11 players on Friday evening, bringing their roster from 91 to 80 players. They still must release 27 more before the Sunday at 6 p.m. deadline.
The Steelers Keeney-James on Aug. 4. He tried out with the Steelers, along with seven other players, on July 31. He was signed after Cole Burgess was waived with an injury designation after suffering an apparently significant knee injury on Monday, Aug. 3.
Keeney-James recorded one reception for 5 yards in the preseason. Keeney-James dropped a would-be first down on a pass from Drew Allar on fourth-and-4 late in Thursday night's preseason loss to the Buffalo Bills.
Keeney-James, 25, is a 6-foot, 190-pound wide receiver in his second professional season out of UMass. He signed with the Detroit Lions after not being selected in the 2025 NFL Draft . He was waived on Aug. 26 as part of final roster cuts, after failing to make a catch on two targets in the preseason.
On Sept. 23, Keeney-James was signed to the Green Bay Packers' practice squad. He played in one game with the Packers after being elevated to the 53-man roster for the team's regular season finale against the Minnesota Vikings. He had two receptions for 15 yards and returned two kicks for 47 yards in his NFL debut. Keeney-James was released by the Packers in June.
Born in Las Vegas and raised in Southern California, Keeney-James was an unranked recruit coming out of Redlands (Calif.) High School. He attended Eastern Washington at the FCS level and redshirted as a freshman before becoming a minor contributor over the next few seasons. He missed all of 2023 with an injury, and then transferred to UMass for his final collegiate season in 2024.
With the Minutemen, he had a career season, recording 50 catches for 830 yards and six touchdowns, more than doubling his previous career total in yards.
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