The moves trimmed the roster to 75 players. The Steelers must reach the season-opening 53-man limit by Saturday, two days after their preseason finale at Carolina.

Barlow signed with his hometown Steelers earlier this year.

Three rookie free agents cut were wide receiver Eric Fowler, defensive end Derrick Jones and long snapper Jared Retkofsky. Also released were running back Larry Croom, punter Mike Barr, kicker Connor Hughes, linebacker Richard Koonce and wide receiver Dan Sheldon.

Barlow, from Pitt, was signed May 10 to compete for the backup running back's role behind Willie Parker. But Barlow quickly fell out of the rotation early in training camp and never made a strong push to make the team, despite carrying four times for 14 yards and a touchdown Sunday night against Philadelphia.

Barlow, a third-round pick by San Francisco in 2001, has rushed for 3,984 yards on 1,022 carries in six NFL seasons. He gained a career-high 1,024 yards while averaging 5.1 yards per carry in 2003.