Steelers Make Cuts, Last RB Spot Down to Three

The Steelers fifth and final running back spot on the roster will come down to fullback Dan Krieder, halfback Verron Haynes and fullback John Kuhn.  This comes from Monday’s announcement of the release of Kevan Barlow, who was hoping to play in his hometown but was a victim of a team that seems to have too many quality backs and not enough carries.

Barlow signed a one-year deal with the team in May, and it was thought he could be a quality third-down back.  He did have some shots in the preseason to carry the ball, and Sunday night vs the Eagles did have a one-yard TD run.  Now it appears that Najeh Davenport will get the bulk of the third-down carries, provided the team keeps Krieder or Kuhn and lets Haynes go.

Picking the last RB spot is going to be is going to be very tough.  All along the Steelers have said with new offensive coordinator Bruce Arians and coach Mike Tomlin that the fullback was a position that was not as neccessary as it was under Ken Whisenhunt and Bill Cowher.  Krieder showed his worth on Sunday night, catching a pass and rumbling 22 yards, and opening up a nice hole for Willie Parker on his 18-yard TD run.

All along the fan base has been on the side of keeping Krieder, who has been a blu-collar guy that does the dirty work of the Steelers offense.  He deserves to be kept around, and the reaction when he made that catch and run Sunday night may want to sway Arians and Tomlin into cutting Haynes and Kuhn and keeping Dan aboard.

Also cut on Monday were punter Mike Barr, kicker Connor Hughes, wide receivers Eric Fowler and Dan Sheldon, defensive end Derrick Jones, running back Larry Croom, long-snapper Jared Retkofsky, center Donovan Raiola and linebacker Richard Koonce.