The Pittsburgh Steelers released veteran safety Keanu Neal on Thursday, doing so with the designation of a failed physical.
An eight-year NFL veteran who turns 29 in July, Neal joined the Steelers via a two-year deal as a free agent last March. He started eight of the nine games he played and was on the field for roughly two-thirds of the team’s defensive snaps in that time.
But Neal suffered a rib injury after making an interception in the end zone during the fourth quarter of a Nov. 12 home win against the Green Bay Packers. It was the biggest play of his Steelers’ tenure … and also the final one.
???? CE TRAVAIL D’ÉQUIPE ! Patrick Peterson dévie cette passe de Jordan Love, et Keanu Neal l’intercepte dans l’end zone #HereWeGo@Keanu_Neal | @P2 | @steelers
— NFL France (@NFLFrance) November 12, 2023
???? @beinsports_FR MAX 4 #NFLextra
???? @NFLonDAZN pic.twitter.com/EoCFZHy5yt
Neal was placed on injured reserve later that week, and he never returned to practice.
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The Steelers have starters in Minkah Fitzpatrick and Damontae Kazee under contract at safety, but in recent years they had preferred to have more of a run-stopping, in-the-box safety to deploy in certain subpackages. Former Steelers safety Terrell Edmunds is about to become a free agent.
Aside from Fitzpatrick and Kazee, Trenton Thompson and Jalen Elliott are the lone safeties under contract with the Steelers as the start of free agency looms next week. They have a combined 15 NFL regular-season games of experience. Thompson played six games for the Steelers last season, but Elliott has not appeared in a game since 2021.
Neal (6-foot, 211 pounds) was a first-round pick of the Atlanta Falcons in 2016. Named to the Pro Bowl during his second NFL season, Neal has played for four teams since 2020.
