Steelers sign outside linebacker Kuony Deng, receiver Aron Cruickshank; waive/injured 2 WRs
Just as their first practice at team headquarters in advance of the season was getting underway Monday, the Pittsburgh Steelers announced the signings of outside linebacker Kuony Deng and receiver Aron Cruickshank.
Waived last week by the Chicago Bears, the 6-foot-6, 240-pound Deng finished last season with that organization. He previously was with the Atlanta Falcons as an undrafted rookie free agent out of California.
Cruickshank was also with the Bears for the start of their training camp. The 5-10, 170-pound receiver played in college at Wisconsin and Rutgers. Last season for the Scarlet Knights, Cruickshank was named third-team all-Big Ten at receiver and return specialist. Cruickshank had five return touchdowns over his college career (four on kickoffs, one on a punt).
“We’re just trying to keep a fresh 90 available to us,” coach Mike Tomlin said, referencing the size of the 90-man camp roster. “That’s what this process is about. It would be less than professional for us not to work to expose ourselves to as many NFL capable guys as we can.”
In the corresponding roster moves, the Steelers waived/injured receivers Cody White and Hakeem Butler.
White, the son of Steelers director of pro scouting Sheldon White, had been with the Steelers since 2020. He appeared in 15 of their 17 games in 2021 but spent all of last season on the practice squad (making one game appearance).
The 6-5 Butler was a fourth-round pick of the Arizona Cardinals in 2019 but has been with three other NFL teams, two CFL franchises and the XFL’s St. Louis Battlehawks since. It was with that latter team that Butler earned all-league honors, leading to his signing with the Steelers in May. But drops plagued Butler throughout camp, and he was limited to one 17-yard catch on two targets over the preseason.
On Monday, the Steelers practiced at UPMC Rooney Sports Complex on Pittsburgh’s South Side. On Thursday, they broke training camp at Saint Vincent.
Hey, Steelers Nation, get the latest news about the Pittsburgh Steelers here.
Chris Adamski is a TribLive reporter who has covered primarily the Pittsburgh Steelers since 2014 following two seasons on the Penn State football beat. A Western Pennsylvania native, he joined the Trib in 2012 after spending a decade covering Pittsburgh sports for other outlets. He can be reached at cadamski@triblive.com.
Remove the ads from your TribLIVE reading experience but still support the journalists who create the content with TribLIVE Ad-Free.