Predicting the Steelers' final 53-man roster

By Wilson Simons



The Steelers have until 6 p.m. ET Sunday to get to 53. Thursday's 28-27 loss in Buffalo was the last live evidence anybody's getting, and it moved the needle on more than one bubble.

This is a prediction, not a wish list. There's a difference, and it shows up immediately at the top of the depth chart.

Quarterbacks (4)

Aaron Rodgers, Mason Rudolph, Will Howard, Drew Allar

I don't think this is the right call. I think it's the call they make.

Will Howard looked good enough this summer to make a practice squad, not a 53-man roster. Against the Jets he looked lost. He was better in Buffalo, minus a miscommunication that turned into an interception, but I think we've already seen his peak. Drew Allar was better in every sense of the word — arm, decision-making, poise in a two-minute situation McCarthy openly said he wanted him in.

The problem is that the Steelers don't seem to see it that way, and four quarterbacks is where all the reporting has pointed. If Howard's finale knocks landed him on injured reserve, that's the escape hatch and this whole roster loosens up by a spot. Absent that, they're spending a roster spot on a fourth passer, and every other position group pays for it.

Running backs (4)

Rico Dowdle, Jaylen Warren, Eli Heidenreich, Lew Nichols

Kaleb Johnson is the cut nobody wants to make and everybody saw coming. He has looked awful. Not "needs time" awful — awful. He was behind Eli Heidenreich in the rotation against the Bills, which tells you everything about how this staff has ranked them. A third-round pick two years ago is now a player the Steelers don't see a future with in Pittsburgh.

Heidenreich earned the opposite. His nine-yard touchdown run around the right end in Buffalo was the kind of rep a seventh-rounder needs on tape three days before cutdowns. And if he doesn't carve out a role in the actual rotation, he can return kicks alongside Wetjen — which is a real argument for keeping him over a fourth receiver.

Lew Nichols reminds me of Jaylen Warren when Warren was the one fighting to make this roster. A bowling ball with legs and a straight-up refusal to go down. He led the Steelers in rushing in the preseason opener against Green Bay with 36 yards and a score, and put up another 40 on the ground in Buffalo — accounting for a huge chunk of an offense that only managed 98 net yards in the first half. Leading your team in preseason rushing yards isn't nothing.

Wide receivers (5)

DK Metcalf, Michael Pittman Jr., Germie Bernard, Roman Wilson, Kaden Wetjen

Roman Wilson makes it, and I'm not thrilled about it. Out of the receivers actually available to Pittsburgh, he's the best one — which isn't saying much. He has been showing out in camp and it hasn't translated to preseason games. Rodgers has had good things to say about him, and that matters. But he's on a short leash, and if Cedric Tillman clears waivers after Cleveland cut him Thursday, the Steelers should be looking hard.

Wetjen is on this roster for one reason: the 45-yard punt return touchdown with 11:11 left. He'd been trying to get something going all preseason, and right when Steelers fans were out on him, he did the exact thing he was drafted to do. It also would have looked rough to cut a fourth-round returner in the same week Skyler Bell — drafted shortly after him and playing for the other sideline Thursday — went for 77 yards and a touchdown against Pittsburgh's defense.

Tight ends (3)

Pat Freiermuth, Darnell Washington, Robert Tonyan

Freiermuth and Washington are the staples here. Washington got his four-year, $42 million extension in June, and I think Freiermuth has his best season yet in a McCarthy offense.

Tonyan is the interesting one. Being a friend of Aaron Rodgers can clearly get you into a lot of places, and that's part of it — but he also looked good in the preseason opener and was Will Howard's favorite target. He should have added a score in that game and came up about an inch short of the end zone.

Offensive line (9)

Broderick Jones, Troy Fautanu, Max Iheanachor, Zach Frazier, Mason McCormick, Dylan Cook, Gennings Dunker, Spencer Anderson, Ryan McCollum

Broderick Jones makes it because they can't afford to cut another tackle. That's it. That's the reasoning. He's the lesser of two evils, and I see him starting at right tackle in Week 1 with Fautanu on Rodgers' blind side.

Iheanachor has been hurt for most of camp and the preseason, and he didn't look phenomenal in Buffalo — but he made the key block on Heidenreich's touchdown, which is the sort of thing a first-rounder needs to show. Dunker survives on draft capital as much as anything; the Steelers don't cut fourth-rounders in year one. Cook is the swing tackle.

McCollum is the pure backup center, and that's a spot you don't leave empty. He's been running behind Frazier on the depth chart all summer, and if Frazier goes down without him on the roster, the Steelers are asking Brock Hoffman to do a job he's split reps at rather than owned.

Defensive line (7)

Cam Heyward, Keeanu Benton, Yahya Black, Derrick Harmon, Gabriel Rubio, Sebastian Joseph-Day, Esezi Otomewo

Rubio's play in Buffalo pushed him from bubble to lock.

Otomewo gets the last spot on this roster. He made the 53 last season, the staff keeps finding uses for him, and with a fourth quarterback eating a spot elsewhere, this is the group where an extra body actually earns its keep.

Outside linebackers (4)

T.J. Watt, Alex Highsmith, Nick Herbig, Jack Sawyer

Inside linebackers (4)

Patrick Queen, Payton Wilson, Elandon Roberts, Carson Bruener

Bringing Elandon Roberts back put Cole Holcomb on the wrong side of this. Bruener has gone from special teams body to someone who can actually spell the starters.

Cornerbacks (6)

Jalen Ramsey, Joey Porter Jr., Jamel Dean, Brandin Echols, Asante Samuel Jr., Daylen Everette

Six corners looks like a lot until you count how many of them are actually playing corner.

Ramsey has slowed down enough that he started playing more free safety last season, and I don't see that changing. So functionally this is five corners and a hybrid. Porter and Dean were both top-10 corners last season — assuming Porter doesn't hold out for a new deal. Echols is the starting slot. Samuel has looked great all preseason and didn't dress in Buffalo, which is how you know he's a lock.

Safeties (4)

DeShon Elliott, Jaquan Brisker, Rayshawn Jenkins, Robert Spears-Jennings

Brisker and Elliott would start on any other team in the league. Spears-Jennings made too many big plays to cut and he can set the tone on special teams. If Elliott takes a step back coming off last season's injury, Spears-Jennings is the guy who takes those snaps.

Specialists (3)

Chris Boswell, Cameron Johnston, Christian Kuntz

Notable cuts: Kaleb Johnson, Cole Holcomb, Brock Hoffman, Max Hurleman

The Steelers open the season Sept. 13 against Atlanta at Acrisure Stadium.

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