First cuts of camp loom on Tuesday
NFL rosters must drop from 90 to 85
The halfway point of the preseason arrived Thursday night in Philadelphia for the Steelers. Two games are down with two to go, which means opportunities are running out for players fighting for spots on the 53-man roster.
The first round of cuts will happen Tuesday when rosters must be trimmed from 90 to 85 players. One more round of five cuts will happen next Tuesday before getting down to 53 by Aug. 31.
For the second consecutive year, there is some good news for players wanting to keep their NFL dream alive. The NFL is keeping the popular rules regarding roster sizes and practice squads they adopted a year ago due to COVID-19.
Under those rules, teams can carry 16 players on the practice squad and four of them can be protected every week. On game
days, two players can be elevated from the practice squad to the active roster without having to remove another player from the 53man roster.
The Steelers have some major decisions to make in the next two weeks. Might a camp darling make the final cut? And which veterans are in danger of being released?
Here is my first 53-man roster projection:
Offense
Quarterbacks (3): Ben Roethlisberger, Mason Rudolph and Dwayne Haskins.
Breakdown: Haskins is pushing for the backup job, which drastically could change things if he wins that competition. Two years ago, the Steelers traded Josh Dobbs for a fifth-round pick. Could they trade Dobbs again? Or, if Haskins is elevated to the backup job, might the Steelers get a good return for Rudolph?
Running backs (5): Najee Harris, Kalen Ballage, Benny Snell, Anthony McFarland and Derek Watt.
Breakdown: Jaylen Samuels, who is entering the final year of his rookie contract, is the odd man out. Tomlin hasn’t been shy about praising Ballage, a veteran free agent who is pushing Snell to be the top backup.
Receivers ( 5): JuJu Smith-Schuster, Diontae Johnson, Chase Claypool, James Washington and Ray-Ray McCloud.
Breakdown: Watch out for rookie undrafted free agent Mathew Sexton who could take the final roster spot away from McCloud if he continues to play well. McCloud came out of nowhere to beat out Ryan Switzer a year ago. Sexton could do the same. And no, the Steelers should not trade Washington. Too valuable.
Tight ends ( 3): Eric Ebron, Pat Freiermuth and Zach Gentry.
Breakdown: Kevin Rader is the fourth tight end and a quality special teams player. If he passes through waivers and is added to the practice squad, he would be a candidate to be added to the roster for some games. He’s a valuable player to have on call if injuries arise, too.
Offensive line (9): Chukwuma Okorafor, Kevin Dotson, Kendrick Green, Trai Turner, Zach Banner, Joe Haeg, Dan Moore, B.J. Finney and J.C. Hassenauer.
Breakdown: This is the hardest position group to project because of injuries and uncertainty at center. Moore has improved to the point where he might be considered for the swing tackle job, which potentially could put Haeg’s job in jeopardy. Rashaad Coward’s lack of position flexibility means there isn’t a place for him, but it wouldn’t be a surprise if the Steelers parted ways with Finney or Hassenauer, given their similar skill sets.
Defense
Defensive line (6): Cam Heyward, Tyson Alualu, Stephon Tuitt, Carlos Davis, Chris Wormley and Isaiahh Loudermilk.
Breakdown: Loudermilk isn’t ready to play a big role, but they won’t want to expose a fifth-round pick to the waiver process. Keeping the rookie comes at the expense of Isaiah Buggs, whose inconsistency could be his downfall. Buggs needs a strong showing in the final few weeks of camp to keep his job.
Inside linebacker ( 5): Devin Bush, Joe Schobert, Robert Spillane, Marcus Allen and Buddy Johnson.
Breakdown: The acquisition of Schobert is bad news for Ulysees Gilbert and maybe Allen, too. For now, Allen makes it, but it wouldn’t be a big surprise if the Steelers decided to keep only four inside linebackers and keep a couple stashed on the practice squad.
Outside linebacker (4): T.J. Watt, Alex Highsmith, Melvin Ingram and Jamir Jones.
Breakdown: It likely will come to down to Jones, Quincy Roche or Cassius Marsh. To this point, Jones has outplayed Roche, a sixth- round pick out of Miami. Marsh has more experience and adds special teams value if the Steelers wanted to go with another veteran for the fourth spot.
Defensive backs (10): Joe Haden, Cam Sutton, Antoine Brooks, Arthur Maulet, James Pierre, Justin Layne, Minkah Fitzpatrick, Terrell Edmunds, Miles Killebrew and Tre Norwood.
Breakdown: Another tough position group to project because Maulet and Brooks are versatile and can play safety, too. Could their versatility bump Norwood out? Perhaps, but Norwood has had a good camp. Layne got an interception against the Eagles. The 2019 third-round pick needed to give the coaches a reason to keep him after falling behind Pierre on the depth chart.
Specialists
Place-kicker: Chris Boswell
Punter: Pressley Harvin III
Long snapper: Kameron Canaday
Breakdown: Harvin beating out the veteran Jordan Berry shouldn’t be a surprise. There is a competition at long snapper, too, with Christian Kuntz pushing Canaday. The Steelers can save about $1 million if they keep Kuntz.