While the Pittsburgh Steelers have had no shortage of great players and great seasons in their long and treasured history, there have certainly been quite a few players who did nothing to contribute to those wins. Now, not every player can be a T.J. Watt or a 'Mean' Joe Greene, but these five players certainly contributed to a worse overall season or stretch of games before being let go. Here are five of the worst players in Steelers history.
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Pittsburgh Steelers Linebacker TJ Watt is making his mark on the 2023 season with DPOY in his sights yet again
Dick Leftridge
Starting the list off with an oldie, Dick Leftridge was the third overall pick in the 1966 draft. Despite the promise of a third overall pick, Leftridge failed to showcase any real talent. Even the best online betting sites would've given him terrible prop odds. A bet on Leftridge making a touchdown, let alone catching the ball, could've been super profitable back then, but unfortunately, he just couldn't compete at the NFL level.Leftridge would only make an appearance in four games in his first and last season with the Steelers—and the NFL in general. Leftridge is widely considered to be one of the worst draft picks in NFL history and certainly one of the worst Steeler players in history.
Huey Richardson
Huey Richardson is another first-round pick who didn't pan out too well for the Steelers. Richardson was a linebacker and defensive end and was the 15th overall pick in the 1991 draft. He performed fairly well at the University of Florida, which may have been why the Steelers opted to pick him after their previous three choices were all taken early by other teams.
Richardson would do slightly better than Leftridge, seeing play in five games instead of a measly four, but would only land two tackles, making it clear that he didn't fit in with the Steelers' 3-4 defense. The head coach would try and move him around to find a better position for him to play, but he'd ultimately be let go and traded to the Redskins in a seventh-round draft pick the following year.
LeGarrette Blount
Although he saw mild success later on in his NFL career, LeGarrette Blount was quite the disappointment for the Steelers after signing a two-year contract with them in 2014. His troubles began with a run-in with the law where he and a fellow player were arrested for marijuana possession, but it would only get worse from there. Blount would only manage to score two touchdowns and ran for 266 yards before being released after an abysmal game against the Tennessee Titans, where he left the field before the game was even over.
Unfortunately for Steelers fans, Blount would play for a few more teams in the league where he did infinitely better—although that's not saying much. Still, it's hard to watch a player actually manage to be decent after being such a wash for your team.
George Izo
Sometimes, a team takes a chance, and sometimes, that chance is the late George Izo. Making our way back to the 60s, George Izo was the second overall pick in the 1960 draft, and he wasn't doing too hot by the time Pittsburgh picked him up. Still, the Steelers could not have imagined that he would last just over a month after only playing in four games. In the four games he did play, he managed two touchdowns while at the same time giving up eight interceptions. It's easy to see why the Steelers quickly released Izo after that. Izo was offered a position by the Redskins just one year later, but he turned it down. Izo probably saw the writing on the wall and decided to pursue a different path in life than being a not-so-rookie quarterback.
Alonzo Jackson
In the second round of the 2003 NFL Draft, the Steelers picked up one Alonzo Jackson, only to be entirely disappointed with his performance and relegating him to special teams. In the nine games that he played, Alonzo managed to connect on just five tackles and gave an overall unmemorable performance. Just ask any fan who watched the 2003 season, and they'll either say, 'Alonzo Who?' or 'Oh, that sack of deadweight'.
Jackson would get passed around to two other teams after being released from the Steelers prior to the 2005 season: the New York Giants and the Philadelphia Eagles (who also managed to nab a player in Week 7 from the Steelers in the 2023 season). Unfortunately, just like the Steelers, neither team was able to turn Alonzo into the star player that so many 'undersized Seminole ends' became.
Wrap Up
While this wasn't exactly an extensive list of the worst players the Steelers ever fielded, and nor is it in any sort of order, the above five players are certainly some of the worst in the history of Pittsburgh football. They're still better than your average Joe sitting around on a Sunday watching the game, but then again, Joe isn't being paid thousands of dollars to throw a pigskin.
