The Pittsburgh Steelers have released cornerback Kalon Barnes, safety Nate Meadors, and wide receiver Tarik Black from their injured reserve list with injury settlements, according to the NFL Transactions wire.
Barnes suffered a quad injury on August 11 in Latrobe. While he initially tried to play through it, Barnes was waived/injured on August 13 and cleared waivers to hit injured reserve. In his place, the Steelers signed Zyon Gilbert.
Barnes had run intermittently with the second-team cornerback group, along with Darius Rush, Cory Trice, and Anthony Averett. When Barnes went out of the picture, Trice stepped in and took significant reps, earning himself the top backup spot on both sides. Barnes had been with the Steelers since 2023, when he joined the team’s practice squad.
Black suffered a hamstring injury during the same August 11 practice as Barnes. He did not return and was waived/injured on August 13. In his place, the Steelers signed T.J. Luther after a tryout. Luther took the field against the Buffalo Bills on a few days’ notice.
Black, a former Michigan standout, joined the Steelers late in training camp. The team signed him on July 31, and he ran with the third team for most of his reps in Pittsburgh. He tried out for the Steelers before training camp.
Meadors had played well as the team’s second free safety and earned a promotion early in training camp. However, a hamstring injury doomed him, and he was placed on injured reserve on August 6.
Meadors had been in and out of the facility with the Steelers, who signed him to a reserve/future contract after he was on the practice squad for much of the season.
All three players can sign with any team they want if they are healthy. The Steelers can not re-sign the three players until the length of the injury settlement plus an additional three weeks has passed.
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