The Pittsburgh Steelers aren’t done tinkering with their roster, and this time, a former Dallas Cowboys player is on the losing end. The team announced Thursday it’s parting ways with defensive end K.J. Henry, whose journey through the NFL has taken him from Washington to Dallas and finally to Pittsburgh.

On the same day, they also announced a new addition that is expected to improve the depth of their defense.

“We have signed DB Ahmari Harvey to a one-year contract and released DE K.J. Henry,” the Pittsburgh Steelers posted on X.

This is not the first time that the player has gone through a similar situation. Henry’s NFL journey kicked off when the Washington Commanders grabbed him in the fifth round, 137th overall, back in the 2023 draft. He signed his four-year rookie deal not long after, putting pen to paper on May 12. As a rookie, he suited up for 10 games and started three of them, piling up 19 tackles, a sack and a half, and a pair of passes defended.

It was decent for a rookie, but everything changed quickly from thereon. They hired Dan Quinn as the new head coach of the team for 2024, and later in August, Henry was released during final roster cuts before the start of the season.

Following that, there was a kind of tour of the NFL teams. After being released by the Commanders, the Bengals claimed him off waivers, and he even appeared in two games. Later, a move to the Cowboys happened.

Despite all the bouncing around, Henry can still say he’s got a ring to his name. He was on the Philadelphia Eagles‘ practice squad when Philadelphia rolled past the Chiefs 40-22 in 2025, so while he wasn’t out there on the field for it, he was part of the organization during that championship run. Go back even further, and he’s also got a national championship from his freshman year at Clemson in January 2019.

Over three NFL seasons, he’s played in 15 games and put up 22 tackles with 2.5 sacks. The numbers are modest, but he’s shown flashes of being able to make plays when given the opportunity. While the decision may come as a hit, with the training camp still left, Henry could still be picked up by any other roster if they want to fill the gaps before the start of the season.

In a related move, the Steelers also signed defensive end Ahmari Harvey.

Steelers add undrafted Ahmari Harvey to roster

Pittsburgh’s secondary just got a little deeper. The Steelers announced Thursday that they’ve signed cornerback Ahmari Harvey. However, contract details haven’t been released yet. Harvey’s path to Pittsburgh wasn’t exactly a straight line. He went undrafted in the 2026 draft, then landed with the Broncos as an undrafted free agent on May 8. That stop in Denver didn’t last, though. He was waived on June 18, and just a week later, on June 25, the Steelers grabbed him off the market.

Before all that, Harvey put in real work at the college level. He actually started his career at Auburn before heading to Georgia Tech, where he spent four years building a solid resume.

In 43 games with the Yellow Jackets, he piled up 121 tackles, 98 of them solo. He also showed some serious playmaking instincts, breaking up 12 passes, snagging four interceptions, forcing two fumbles, recovering two more, and adding a sack for good measure.

The defense has a handful of new faces mixed in. This is due to the new defensive coordinator, Patrick Graham, who has tweaked the way things have been going in Pittsburgh. While the offense is mostly running it back, aside from some nice upgrades at receiver. Landing wide receiver Michael Pittman Jr. and cornerback Jamel Dean were the splashiest moves of the offseason, and those additions came alongside a strong draft haul and a few smart depth signings.

So where does that leave things? On paper, at least, the Steelers look like a team that’s done its homework, and this team is shaping up to be one worth keeping an eye on once the season kicks off.