The Pittsburgh Steelers released S Juan Thornhill for DB Sebastian Castro — a talented undrafted rookie that fans, including HC Mike Tomlin, were excited to see return.
During Tuesday’s press conference, Tomlin shared the thought process behind the decision to let Thornhill go — claiming that it was more about acquiring Castro, while still acknowledging some play concerns.
“The play wasn’t up to snuff,” Tomlin said of Thornhill. “And Castro was available to us. We went through the team development process with Castro — 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.”
One of the best run-stopping defensive backs coming out of the 2025 draft class, Castro ultimately went unselected and signed with Pittsburgh as an undrafted free agent.
Possessing the ability to play at safety or out of the slot, Castro could perhaps make a bigger impact than Thornhill did during his nine-game span with Pittsburgh — an exciting storyline for fans to watch closely as we get closer to the Week 11 matchup vs. the Cincinnati Bengals.
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This article originally appeared on Steelers Wire: Steelers’ Mike Tomlin explains decision to release Juan Thornhill
