Steelers release veteran CB William Jackson III
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Seven years ago, the Pittsburgh Steelers coveted William Jackson III.
But when they finally acquired him, he never even appeared in a game for them.
The Steelers released Jackson on Friday, four months after trading for the veteran cornerback. In the end, the Steelers owe no compensation to the Washington Commanders because the deadline-day swap of late-round 2025 draft picks was conditional on Jackson hitting snaps-played benchmarks.
The benchmark was not “zero” — and that’s exactly how many snaps Jackson played for the Steelers. He barely practiced with the team, as a back injury prevented Jackson from taking part in a session less than a week into his tenure with the team, and he was placed on injured reserve soon thereafter. The 30-year-old was cleared to practice during the final week of the regular season but was not activated.
Releasing Jackson saves the Steelers $9.25 million in salary and salary-cap space in 2023, a notable figure with unrestricted free agency opening up next week.
A physical cornerback who played in college at Houston, Jackson was taken by the Cincinnati Bengals with the 24th overall pick in 2016. The Steelers were next on the clock at that point, and with a glaring need at cornerback, they settled for Artie Burns as their first-round pick.
Burns lost his starting job midway through his third season. Jackson, meanwhile, was signed by Washington to a three-year, $40.5 million contract in 2021. But he played only 16 games over 1 ½ seasons with the Commanders, who paid Jackson almost $30 million.
The Steelers compensated Jackson about $2.8 million while he was on their roster from Nov. 1 through the end of this past season.
Also released Friday was defensive back Carlins Platel. A rookie signed off a tryout, Platel briefly flashed potential during minicamp but suffered an injury early during training camp and spent the season on IR.
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