53-man roster projection: Fittipaldo’s final prediction

The Steelers have time before they open the regular season — 16 days, to be exact, until the 49ers visit Acrisure Stadium. But they only have four days to cut their roster from 90 players to 53.

Cut-down day is Tuesday, and GM Omar Khan and his staff have some tough decisions to make. The Steelers are deep at certain positions and thin at others.

After Tuesday, Khan will have time to scour the waiver wire and/or call other GMs and make a trade to upgrade his roster.

He could be looking to improve his secondary depth after losing rookie cornerback Cory Trice early in training camp.

Other teams could be interested in some of the depth players the Steelers have on their offensive and defensive lines.

Earlier this week, defensive coordinator Teryl Austin said he has more NFL-capable players than he’ll likely be able to keep.

“At the end of the day, we may lose a guy we know is capable of playing in the NFL,” Austin said.

The Steelers also have two former starters along the offensive line who could be expendable. Kendrick Green, a third-round pick in 2021 who started at center as a rookie, could be on the chopping block, as could 2020 fourth-round pick Kevin Dotson, who started all 17 games at left guard last season.

Dotson missed Thursday’s game with a shoulder injury.

Khan and assistant GM Andy Weidl wanted to upgrade depth across the roster over the offseason. They’ve done that. Now it’s time to decide who is staying and who is leaving.

Here is my final 53-man roster projection:

(Editor’s note: Think you can do better than Ray? Use our Steelers 53-man roster simulator to lock in your ideal team.)

Offense

Quarterbacks ( 3): Kenny Pickett, Mitch Trubisky and Mason Rudolph.

Breakdown: Not much debate here. Tanner Morgan, an undrafted free agent out of Minnesota, didn’t do enough to unseat Rudolph as the No. 3.

Running backs (3): Najee Harris, Jaylen Warren and Anthony McFarland.

Breakdown: I’m still not convinced McFarland will dress for many games, but he does offer insurance against an injury to Harris or Warren. And McFarland played well when given opportunities this summer.

Receivers (6): Diontae Johnson, George Pickens, Allen Robinson, Calvin Austin III, Gunner Olszewski and Miles Boykin.

Breakdown: Olszewski is a reliable depth piece who has the trust of Pickett and the coaching staff. Boykin makes it for his special teams prowess.

Tight ends ( 4): Pat Freiermuth, Zach Gentry, Darnell Washington and Connor Heyward.

Breakdown: A deep and versatile position room. Offensive coordinator Matt Canada can get creative with his personnel packages. Heyward played running back Thursday night and gives the coaching staff flexibility with their 46-man game day roster.

Offensive linemen (9): Dan Moore, Isaac Seumalo, Mason Cole, James Daniels, Chukwuma Okorafor, Broderick Jones, Nate Herbig, Kevin Dotson and Spencer Anderson.

Breakdown: Kendrick Green doesn’t make the cut. Dotson doesn’t play another position and loses value if he’s not a starter, but his starting experience helps him hold on to a roster spot. The wild card is Ryan McCollum, who could make it over Dotson due to Herbig’s shoulder. If the Steelers aren’t sure Herbig will be healthy for the start of the season, McCollum likely gets the spot over Dotson, who could be a trade candidate.

Defense

Defensive line ( 7): Cam Heyward, Larry Ogunjobi, Keeanu Benton, Isaiahh Loudermilk, DeMarvin Leal, Montravius Adams and Armon Watts.

Breakdown: The final spot among the seven is difficult to handicap. Breiden Fehoko, the run-stopping nose tackle, could knock Adams, Watts or Loudermilk off the roster.

Inside linebacker (5): Cole Holcomb, Elandon Roberts, Kwon Alexander, Mark Robinson and Tanner Muse.

Breakdown: Muse makes it as a special teams player, but his spot could be tenuous in the lead-up to the 49ers game.

Outside linebacker ( 4): T. J. Watt, Alex Highsmith, Markus Golden and Nick Herbig.

Breakdown: What a difference a year makes. This might be the strongest position group on the team, and it’s a testament to Khan and Weidl’s plan to win with quality depth.

Defensive backs (9): Patrick Peterson, Levi Wallace, Joey Porter Jr., Chandon Sullivan, Elijah Riley, Minkah Fitzpatrick, Damontae Kazee, Keanu Neal and Miles Killebrew.

Breakdown: James Pierre doesn’t make the cut in this projection. The Steelers won’t go into the season with only three outside corners, so look for Khan to acquire one or grab one off the waiver wire.

Specialists

Place kicker: Chris Boswell

Punter: Pressley Harvin III

Long snapper: Christian Kuntz

Breakdown: Harvin holds off a challenge from former Jets punter Braden Mann.