Former Pittsburgh Steelers WR Robert Woods announced his retirement from football on Tuesday in a post on his Instagram account. In his retirement announcement, Woods thanked the Steelers and the other teams he played on for “giving me the opportunity to live out my dream at the highest level.”
The 33-year-old Woods never played a regular-season snap with the Steelers, but he was with the team last offseason and through training camp. He was waived during final roster cuts and briefly circled back to Pittsburgh’s practice squad but was released on September 2. He didn’t catch on with another NFL team last season and is now hanging up his cleats.
A former second-round pick by the Buffalo Bills, Woods spent four seasons in Buffalo before signing with the Los Angeles Rams, where he had two 1,000-yard seasons and won a Super Bowl in 2021. He spent 2022 with the Tennessee Titans and 2023-2024 with the Houston Texans, then signed with the Steelers ahead of last season.
His 2018 and 2019 seasons with the Rams were the best of his career, as he posted 86 receptions for 1,219 yards and six touchdowns and 90 receptions for 1,134 yards and two touchdowns, respectively. While those were the only two 1,000-yard seasons of his career, he was a steady contributor throughout his tenure in the NFL. In his last season seeing regular-season snaps with the Texans, Woods had 20 receptions for 203 yards in 2024.
While his time in Pittsburgh was brief, Woods was a veteran presence in the receiver room and encouraged the receiver room to be physical when the pads came on during training camp.
Woods finished his career with 8.233 receiving yards on 683 receptions with 38 career touchdowns. He had one reception for four yards with the Steelers in their 2025 preseason opener against the Jacksonville Jaguars, which wound up being Woods’ last reception in an NFL uniform.