Former Pitt tight end Scott Orndoff waived by Pittsburgh Steelers

Former Pitt tight end Scott Orndoff was waived by the Pittsburgh Steelers on Wednesday afternoon, per an announcement from the team on Twitter.

The former Panther and his family were also the victims of some unfortunate timing.

“Just after noon Wednesday, Scott Orndoff was beaming about how his parents were planning on coming to Latrobe for the first time to watch him practice Thursday at training camp,” said Chris Adamski of TribLive.com.

“No more than an hour later, Orndoff was informed he won’t be practicing with the Steelers anymore.”

Orndoff was not selected in this year’s NFL draft after a standout senior season with the Panthers, but he was picked up by the Steelers as an undrafted free agent in late April.

In his final season at Pitt, he pulled in 35 receptions for 579 yards and five touchdowns, ranking second on the team in receptions, receiving yards and receiving touchdowns. The only Pitt receiver to outplay him in terms of stats was Jester Weah, who enjoyed a breakout season.

Orndoff suffered a soft-tissue injury on Sunday, according to Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com, and it appears that injury was the deciding factor in the Steelers’ decision to part ways with him.

The team signed tight end Jake McGee, who played his college ball at Virginia before transferring to Florida, to replace him.

From the Steelers’ point of view, McGee should fill the void left by Orndoff, as they’re both primarily blocking tight ends. However, McGee has proven to be more limited as a receiver, never reaching the 400-yard mark in any of his four seasons in college.

Orndoff, on the other hand, emerged as a downfield option for quarterback Nathan Peterman last year, and it would have been interesting to see what he could accomplish with Ben Roethlisberger, who also has an affinity for the deep ball.