Former LSU Tigers edge rusher Bradyn Swinson is looking for work again after the Pittsburgh Steelers released him from their practice squad on Tuesday.
The Steelers announced the move as part of a short roster shuffle, signing cornerback Terell Smith to the active roster off Washington’s practice squad and adding linebacker K.J. Henry to the practice squad.
Swinson, who had been in Pittsburgh since Sept. 1, was the corresponding cut. He never appeared in a game for the Steelers.
The release closes a brief second stop for the Douglasville, Georgia, product, whose NFL path has stayed on the fringe since New England took him in the fifth round of the 2025 draft, No. 146 overall.
The Patriots released him at the end of the 2025 preseason, brought him back to the practice squad, then promoted him to the active roster in November.
He played in three regular-season games that year, mostly on special teams, and finished with one tackle. He was also on the roster for New England’s run to the Super Bowl. Pittsburgh signed him the day after the Patriots cut him again on Aug. 30.
What the league has not yet seen is the player who became a starter in Baton Rouge. Swinson arrived at LSU from Oregon before the 2023 season and broke through in 2024 under first-year edge coach Kevin Peoples.
He started 12 of 13 games, earned second-team All-SEC honors from the league’s coaches, and led the Tigers in tackles for loss (13.5), sacks (8.5) and quarterback hurries. He also led LSU’s defensive linemen with 58 tackles.
The signature afternoon came against South Carolina, when three sacks in a comeback win made him SEC Defensive Player of the Week.
He also collected SEC Defensive Lineman of the Week honors against UCLA and Ole Miss. In two seasons with the Tigers he posted 93 tackles, 19.5 tackles for loss, 10.5 sacks and four forced fumbles after a quieter three-year run with the Ducks. He graduated from LSU in August 2024 with a degree in anthropology.
At 6-foot-4 and 255 pounds, Swinson was drafted on the strength of that senior tape: length, edge speed and a late production spike after years as a rotational piece.
Through one full NFL season and a second training camp, that production has not translated into a steady roster spot.
Tuesday’s cut leaves the 24-year-old free to sign with another practice squad or wait on the next wave of roster injuries.
For LSU, it is another reminder that a second-team All-SEC edge season still has to be earned again on Sundays.
