The Pittsburgh Steelers have released safety Israel Mukuamu, ending a brief training-camp stay that began as a familiar reunion and closed as another late-August roster squeeze.
Mukuamu signed a one-year contract on Aug. 6 after Pittsburgh waived undrafted corner Ahmari Harvey.
The 26-year-old was a natural target for new Steelers coach Mike McCarthy: Dallas drafted him in the sixth round in 2021 out of South Carolina, and he spent four seasons in McCarthy’s Cowboys secondary before a short 2025 stop with the Carolina Panthers.
Listed at 6-foot-4 and 215 pounds, he is a safety-corner hybrid whose NFL value has always been more special teams and positional flexibility than every-down snaps. In 51 career games with three starts, he has three interceptions, four passes defensed, and roughly 35 to 42 combined tackles.
Pittsburgh brought him in as secondary insurance. The team had already signed veteran safety Rayshawn Jenkins and released Darnell Savage. Injuries and absences further thinned the back end: Jalen Ramsey opened camp on the physically unable to perform list, and starter DeShon Elliott had been limited.
Mukuamu even flashed in the preseason opener, recording a sack. That was not enough.
On Aug. 24, the Steelers activated Ramsey off PUP, signed running back Alex Tecza and corner Jaylon Guilbeau, and released Mukuamu. Tecza, a Mt. Lebanon product and Navy teammate of seventh-round pick Eli Heidenreich, and Guilbeau, a Texas product who worked out for the club a day earlier, filled the spots.
Reports differed slightly on the paperwork. The team’s transaction log listed Mukuamu as released. Other accounts said he had not been practicing and that the club reached an injury settlement rather than carrying him through injured reserve.
Either way, the move was about numbers. NFL teams must cut to 53 players by Aug. 30. A veteran signed in early August who is not practicing is an easy candidate when a local fullback/running back and a fresh corner become available.
For Mukuamu, the path is familiar. He was a core special-teamer in Dallas more than a featured defender, bounced to Carolina’s practice squad, was selected in the UFL draft by the Columbus Aviators, then got another NFL look because of the McCarthy connection.
Pittsburgh’s safety room still includes Jaquan Brisker and Jenkins; the secondary is also counting on Ramsey’s return. Mukuamu can still land on a practice squad or another 53-man roster once final cuts shake out.
For the Steelers, the release is less a statement about his talent than a reminder of how quickly August math works: depth is welcome until the last week of camp, and then every spot has to earn its keep.
