The Pittsburgh Steelers have been a bit busy in making roster moves ahead of the start of the free agency period next week. Pittsburgh signed Jamir Jones and Christian Kuntz each to a one-year deal last week, and as the team announced on Friday, it released William Jackson III.

Jackson was set to be under contract with the Steelers for the 2023 season, but with their call to release the sixth-year cornerback, they will create $12.187 million in cap space for this year.

Jackson featured with the Washington Commanders in the 2022 campaign until they opted to ship him off to the Steelers ahead of the NFL trade deadline. The Steelers acquired Jackson and a conditional 2025 seventh-round pick from the Commanders in exchange for a conditional 2025 sixth-round pick.

Jackson took part in a mere two practices with the Steelers before he was placed on injured reserve due to a back injury. Pittsburgh designated him to return from IR ahead of its Week 18 home matchup against the Cleveland Browns, but he was not activated before the contest. The versatile cornerback wound up playing in just four total games in regular season play last year — all of which came with the Commanders.

Four cornerbacks who finished the 2022 campaign on the Steelers roster will officially hit free agency in the coming week, including Cameron Sutton. The sixth-year defensive back posted career highs across the board last year, from passes defended (15) to interceptions (three).

Steelers general manager Omar Khan did note at the 2023 NFL Scouting Combine that he is much open to prolonging Sutton’s stay with the AFC North powerhouse.

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“We think very highly of Cam and conversations have commenced,” Khan said. “We'll see where it goes, just like all of our other free agents. Everything is on the table.

“We have a few guys that we would prioritize. I'm not going to get into who's who. I feel good about where we're at. We like Cam a great deal.”

The Steelers are coming off of a season where they allowed a 222.3 passing yards per game average and also tallied 20 interceptions.

A crucial free agency period sure awaits Khan next week.