Steelers Release Two Wide Receivers from Injured Reserve

The Steelers have released wide receivers Hakeem Butler and Cody White from injured reserve with injury settlements, according to Aaron Wilson of KPRC2 in Houston.

Butler suffered the injury shortly before the team’s game against the Buffalo Bills and did not play. Meanwhile, White suffered the injury during the game. Both players were waived/injured and returned to the Steelers’ injured reserve list. Now, they are released from injured reserve.

Now that the team has released them with a settlement, Butler and White can sign with another team. Though rare, they can re-sign with the Steelers once three weeks have passed beyond the length of the negotiated injury settlement. The amount and weeks of the settlements were not immediately reported.

Butler was brought in to compete as a depth wide receiver option to compete for the team’s available No. 5 receiver role after a strong spring in the XFL. The 6-foot-5 receiver led the XFL with eight touchdown receptions, with 51 catches and 599 yards. Butler played for the St. Louis Battlehawks of the XFL and ended up as one of the top wide receivers in the entire league.

The Arizona Cardinals selected Butler in the fourth round of the 2019 NFL Draft and was released before the 2020 season. Butler joined the Carolina Panthers and Philadelphia Eagles for brief stints before exiting the NFL altogether. Butler played in two NFL games but failed to record a reception.

White signed with the team in 2020. While on the team’s practice squad and active roster for the past three years, the Michigan State product has found a way to stick around and appeared in 16 games in the last two seasons. White respects the Steelers organization and has somebody in the building to lean on in need, his father, Sheldon White. Sheldon White is the Steelers’ Director of Professional Scouting.

Last season, White played in only one game against the Indianapolis Colts, recording a reception for 12 yards. White went undrafted in the 2020 NFL Draft. He later signed with the Kansas City Chiefs but was waived before training camp started. Then, White signed with the New York Giants but was waived within a week. After that, he signed with the Denver Broncos but was a part of the team’s final roster cuts before the 2020 season.

White appeared in 15 games for the Steelers in 2021, mostly on special teams but hauled in five receptions for 33 yards. In his NFL debut in Week 3 against the Cincinnati Bengals, White hauled in two receptions for 17 yards. His other three receptions came in Week 16 against the Chiefs when he recorded three catches for 16 yards.