The Pittsburgh Steelers released veteran cornerback Ahkello Witherspoon on Wednesday and claimed defensive tackle Manny Jones off waivers from the Arizona Cardinals.
Releasing Witherspoon cleared $4 million in cap space for the 2023 season.
Witherspoon, 28, played in 13 games (seven starts) over two seasons with Pittsburgh and intercepted four passes.
He has 152 tackles, eight picks and 35 passes defensed in 60 games (40 starts) with the Steelers and the San Francisco 49ers (2017-20), who drafted him in the third round in 2017.
Jones joined Arizona as an undrafted rookie free agent out of Colorado State in 2022. He played in four regular-season games and totaled six tackles.
Jones had 181 tackles and 13.5 sacks in four seasons at CSU.
The Steelers also announced the signings of XFL cornerback Luq Barcoo and wide receiver Hakeem Butler, and the re-signing of quarterback Mason Rudolph. All three received one-year deals.
Barcoo, 24, recorded 31 tackles, one interception and one sack this season for the XFL’s San Antonio Brahmas. His NFL experience is limited to three games (one start) with the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2020.
Butler, 27, caught 51 passes for 599 yards and eight touchdowns for the XFL’s St. Louis BattleHawks. He appeared in two games for the Philadelphia Eagles in 2020 but did not catch a pass.
Rudolph, 27, was a third-round pick by Pittsburgh in 2018. He is 5-4-1 as a starter, completing 61.5 percent of his passes for 2,366 yards with 16 touchdowns and 11 interceptions in 17 games.
–Field Level Media
