The Pittsburgh Steelers have released wide receiver Joaquin Davis, a corresponding move after signing safety Brandon Hill, the team announced.
The cut ends Davis’ short stay in Pittsburgh after he signed a one-year contract in mid-June.
Davis, a 6-foot-4, 195-pound undrafted free agent out of North Carolina Central University, never appeared in a regular-season NFL game.
The Steelers brought him in as a long, athletic developmental piece behind established targets such as DK Metcalf and Michael Pittman Jr. With training camp and the preseason winding down and roster cuts approaching, the club chose to add Hill — a former University of Pittsburgh safety and 2023 seventh-round pick by Houston — instead.
At NCCU, Davis compiled 92 receptions for 1,211 yards and 12 touchdowns across 42 games and 31 starts. His senior year in 2024 produced 31 catches for 489 yards and four scores, earning second-team All-MEAC recognition.
Those production numbers were solid rather than eye-popping at the FCS level, but his physical tools stood out. He ran a 4.36-second 40-yard dash, posted a 42-inch vertical and a 10-foot-4 broad jump, and earned a 9.33 Relative Athletic Score. That combination of size and explosiveness first drew NFL interest after the 2025 draft.
Denver signed him as an undrafted free agent. He recorded two catches for 25 yards in the preseason before being waived. Minnesota claimed him for the practice squad late in 2025, signed him to a futures deal, then waived him in early June.
Pittsburgh signed him days later. He appeared in limited preseason action with the Steelers but did not crack the crowded receiver group that also includes draft picks and special-teams contributors.
The move is typical late-August roster math. Pittsburgh already has size at receiver and needed another body in the secondary as it evaluates its safety depth.
Davis remains a free agent and could land on a practice squad elsewhere; several teams have shown interest in tall, fast HBCU products who can contribute on special teams. For now, the 24-year-old Durham, N.C., native is looking for his next opportunity after two organizations in two years.
Hill, 25, has two career regular-season games from his rookie year with the Texans and has bounced among practice squads since. The Steelers value his local ties and familiarity with the area.
Davis’s release underscores how thin the margin is for undrafted receivers, even those with rare measurables and more than 1,200 college receiving yards.
His next stop will likely determine whether that athletic profile finally translates to an NFL roster.
