Earlier this offseason, I wrote a piece highlighting an open spot on the Pittsburgh Steelers’ 90-man roster and how Pittsburgh could potentially be targeting a big-name free agent to fill that spot. Pittsburgh ended up signing DL Larry Ogunjobi to a one year deal worth up to $8 million, thus qualifying as a big-ticket free agent acquisition for the spot the team had open on the roster.
Fast-forward to July 14, and Pittsburgh again has another open roster spot after DL Daniel Archibong was placed on the Reserve/Retired List. Given that the team is set to report to Latrobe for training camp in under two weeks, we will likely see Pittsburgh add someone to the roster in short order to fill that spot and have a full 90-man roster report.
This raises the question: what position will Pittsburgh look to target with this open roster spot? The common positions have been brought up ad nauseam this offseason: backup running back, backup outside linebacker, and depth at offensive tackle are the most-often associated with the Steelers’ current roster makeup. Benny Snell Jr. and Anthony McFarland Jr. don’t really inspire confidence at RB behind Najee Harris in terms of giving the workhorse back a breather or filling in should Harris miss any time due to injury. The Steelers have added Genard Avery and Tuzar Skipper to the OLB room, but they, along with Derrek Tuszka, come off as more OLB4 options compared to having a Melvin Ingram in that role as a more accomplished pass rusher.
I recently wrote a piece about the possibility of Pittsburgh looking to add depth at OT, suggesting Daryl Williams as aa sensible name that could fill in as a starter should either Dan Moore Jr. or Chukwuma Okorafor go down to injury. Whether it be a capable starter or an experienced backup, the OT depth chart outside of swing man Joe Haeg appears thin at this time, leading to major concerns should one of them go down to injury or underwhelm in 2022.
While these three positions are the most-often linked to Pittsburgh, we can’t rule out the team adding a more capable backup at ILB that has experience as a reliable backup/spot starter behind Myles Jack and Devin Bush. Another proven NT could also be in the cards as well as another IOL. Either way, it will be intriguing to see what position the Steelers add to the roster prior to training camp getting underway and if the player added will be one of significance who can push for a roster spot or will be merely a “camp body”.
What are your thoughts on the open spot on Pittsburgh’s roster? What position do you see them adding, and will it be a player that provides meaningful depth/value to the roster? What names could you see being associated with this spot at different positions? Please leave your thoughts in the comments section below and thanks again for reading!
