The Pittsburgh Steelers made the decision to cut ties with safety Juan Thornhill on Monday, ending his nine-game tenure with the team.
It was a bit surprising considering the injuries the Steelers have in the secondary, but the writing was on the wall that Thornhill wasn't long for Pittsburgh after he didn't play a single snap in the last two games.
On Tuesday, head coach Mike Tomlin was asked about the move and he gave a brutally honest answer that will not surprise Cleveland Browns fans.
Tomlin said at least part of the reason was that Thornhill's play "wasn't up to snuff," but he also noted Pittsburgh was interested in reuniting with Sebastian Castro, who the team had claimed off waivers from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
“The play wasn’t up to snuff. And Castro was available to us, we went through the team development process with Castro," Tomlin said. "Thought he had a good camp, a good preseason. He played his tail off in that practice against the Bucs, I think that’s why they stole him from us. We had an opportunity to re-acquire him, we’ve observed some attrition since he left, and so it was an opportunity to get him back. It was more about Castro and less about Juan.”
The Steelers signed Thornhill in March after he was cut loose by the Browns after two lackluster seasons following his inking a three-year, $21 million contract in 2023.
The veteran safety had a big role in Pittsburgh before that dwindled, especially after the trade for Kyle Dugger and the decision to move Jalen Rams ey to safety. Even Thornhill's special teams snaps got cut the last four contests of his Steelers tenure.
Pittsburgh clearly discovered what the Browns already knew about Thornhill, although it didn't cost the Steelers as much as it did the Browns.
More NFL News
- Jared Goff throws shade at Louis Riddick in comment on Daron Payne
- Eagles Week 11 power rankings: How Packers win impacted Philly
- Giants signing rookie kicker after latest Graham Gano injury
- Steelers surprisingly cut ties with free-agent signing and former starter
- Joe Burrow revealed expected return timeline to FOX Sports reporter
- What Kevin Stefanski said about timeline for Shedeur Sanders to start