PITTSBURGH -- The Steelers today announced the release of veteran quarterback Kordell Stewart.
Stewart, a second-round draft pick in 1995 from Colorado, has been the Steelers’ starting quarterback for the majority of the past six seasons until relinquishing his starting position to Tommy Maddox after the third game of the 2002 season.
The quarterback, who was nicknamed “Slash” early in his Steelers’ career by Head Coach Bill Cowher because of his versatile athletic ability, leaves the Steelers with the second-most passing yards in Steelers history (13,328) and ranked 13 th in rushing (2,561 yards) on the Steelers all-time list.
“Kordell Stewart gave us everything he had and brought a lot of excitement and success to us on the field,” said Steelers president Dan Rooney. “He also is a good person who contributed much of his time in this community. He always handled himself with class and dignity. We appreciate all of the contributions he has made to the Steelers and we wish him well.”
“In order for us to comply with the salary cap, we are forced to make some very difficult decisions,” said Cowher. “He was a terrific player for us and always handled himself as a consummate professional. We wish Kordell all the best as he continues his NFL career.”
STEWART’S REGULAR SEASON CAREER STATISTICS
| Passing |
|
|
|
Att. |
Comp |
Pct. |
Yds |
LG |
TD |
Int. |
Sacks-Lost |
Rtg |
Start. |
| 1995 |
|
Pittsburgh |
(AFC) |
7 |
5 |
71.4 |
60 |
32 |
1 |
0 |
1-0 |
136.9 |
0-0 |
|
| 1996 |
|
Pittsburgh |
(AFC) |
30 |
11 |
36.7 |
100 |
15 |
0 |
2 |
3-37 |
18.8 |
0-0 |
|
| 1997 |
|
Pittsburgh |
(AFC) |
440 |
236 |
53.6 |
3,020 |
69t |
21 |
17 |
20-152 |
75.2 |
11-5 |
|
| 1998 |
|
Pittsburgh |
(AFC) |
458 |
252 |
55.0 |
2,560 |
55t |
11 |
18 |
33-211 |
62.9 |
7-9 |
|
| 1999 |
|
Pittsburgh |
(AFC) |
275 |
160 |
58.2 |
1,464 |
42 |
6 |
10 |
22-131 |
64.9 |
5-6 |
|
| 2000 |
|
Pittsburgh |
(AFC) |
289 |
151 |
52.2 |
1,860 |
45t |
11 |
8 |
30-150 |
76.2 |
7-4 |
|
| 2001 |
|
Pittsburgh |
(AFC) |
442 |
266 |
60.2 |
3,109 |
90t |
14 |
11 |
29-175 |
81.7 |
13-3 |
|
| 2002 |
|
Pittsburgh |
(AFC) |
166 |
109 |
65.7 |
1,155 |
64t |
6 |
6 |
7-46 |
82.8 |
3-2 |
|
| NFL |
|
Totals |
(8years) |
2,107 |
1,190 |
56.5 |
13,328 |
90t |
70 |
72 |
137-882 |
72.3 |
46-30 |
| RUSHING |
|
|
No. |
Yds |
Avg. |
LG |
TD |
| 1995 |
Pittsburgh |
(AFC) |
15 |
86 |
5.7 |
22t |
1 |
|
| 1996 |
Pittsburgh |
(AFC) |
39 |
171 |
4.4 |
80t |
5 |
|
| 1997 |
Pittsburgh |
(AFC) |
88 |
476 |
5.4 |
74t |
11 |
|
| 1998 |
Pittsburgh |
(AFC) |
78 |
403 |
5.2 |
56 |
2 |
|
| 1999 |
Pittsburgh |
(AFC) |
55 |
256 |
4.7 |
21 |
2 |
|
| 2000 |
Pittsburgh |
(AFC) |
78 |
426 |
5.6 |
45t |
7 |
|
| 2001 |
Pittsburgh |
(AFC) |
96 |
537 |
5.8 |
48t |
5 |
|
| 2002 |
Pittsburgh |
(AFC) |
43 |
191 |
4.4 |
28t |
2 |
|
| NFL |
Totals |
(8 years) |
496 |
2,540 |
5.1 |
80t |
35 |
|
| Receiving |
|
|
No. |
Yds. |
Avg. |
LG |
TD |
| 1995 |
Pittsburgh |
(AFC) |
14 |
235 |
16.8 |
71 |
t1 |
|
| 1996 |
Pittsburgh |
(AFC) |
17 |
293 |
17.2 |
48 |
3 |
|
| 1997 |
Pittsburgh |
(AFC) |
0 |
0 |
0.0 |
- |
0 |
|
| 1998 |
Pittsburgh |
(AFC) |
1 |
17 |
17.0 |
17 |
0 |
|
| 1999 |
Pittsburgh |
(AFC) |
9 |
113 |
12.6 |
28 |
1 |
|
| 2000 |
Pittsburgh |
(AFC) |
0 |
0 |
0.0 |
— |
0 |
|
| 2001 |
Pittsburgh |
(AFC) |
0 |
0 |
0.0 |
- |
0 |
|
| 2002 |
Pittsburgh |
(AFC) |
0 |
0 |
0.0 |
-- |
0 |
|
| NFL |
Totals |
(8 years) |
41 |
658 |
16.0 |
71 |
t5 |
STEWART’S POSTSEASON CAREER STATISTICS
| Passing |
|
|
Att. |
Comp |
Pct. |
Yds |
LG |
TD |
Int. |
Sacks-Lost |
Rtg |
Start |
| 1995 |
Pittsburgh |
(AFC) |
0 |
0 |
0.0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0-0 |
0.0 |
0-0 |
|
| 1996 |
Pittsburgh |
(AFC) |
11 |
1 |
0.1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1-5 |
39.6 |
0-0 |
|
| 1997 |
Pittsburgh |
(AFC) |
67 |
32 |
47.8 |
335 |
28 |
1 |
4 |
5-11 |
42.8 |
1-1 |
|
| 2001 |
Pittsburgh |
(AFC) |
64 |
36 |
56.3 |
409 |
32t |
1 |
4 |
5-18 |
54.8 |
1-1 |
|
| 2002 |
Pittsburgh |
(AFC) |
0 |
0 |
0.0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0-0 |
0.0 |
0-0 |
|
| NFL |
Totals |
(5 years) |
142 |
69 |
48.6 |
744 |
32t |
2 |
8 |
11-32 |
45.6 |
2-2 |
| RUSHING |
|
|
Att |
Yds |
Avg |
LG |
TD |
| 1995 |
Pittsburgh |
(AFC) |
9 |
32 |
3.6 |
7 |
0 |
|
| 1996 |
Pittsburgh |
(AFC) |
13 |
67 |
5.2 |
24 |
2 |
|
| 1997 |
Pittsburgh |
(AFC) |
14 |
112 |
8.0 |
40 |
t2 |
|
| 2001 |
Pittsburgh |
(AFC) |
18 |
71 |
3.9 |
34 |
0 |
|
| 2002 |
Pittsburgh |
(AFC) |
0 |
0 |
0.0 |
-- |
0 |
|
| NFL |
Totals |
(5 years) |
54 |
282 |
5.2 |
40 |
t4 |
|
| Receiving |
|
|
No |
Yds |
Avg |
LG |
TD |
| 1995 |
Pittsburgh |
(AFC) |
4 |
45 |
11.3 |
19 |
1 |
|
| 1996 |
Pittsburgh |
(AFC) |
0 |
0 |
0.0 |
0 |
0 |
|
| 1997 |
Pittsburgh |
(AFC) |
0 |
0 |
0.0 |
- |
0 |
|
| 2001 |
Pittsburgh |
(AFC) |
0 |
0 |
0.0 |
- |
0 |
|
| 2002 |
Pittsburgh |
(AFC) |
0 |
0 |
0.0 |
-- |
0 |
|
| NFL |
Totals |
(5years) |
4 |
45 |
11.3 |
19 |
1 |