With Pittsburgh’s final preseason game tonight against the Atlanta Falcons, several Steelers are entering their final opportunity to impress the coaching staff and earn a spot on the 53-man roster prior to the start of the regular season. By Aug. 29 at 4 PM EST, every NFL team will have to trim their roster from 90 players to 53, meaning several notable players could be getting their walking papers after the Atlanta game.
With a few of the position battles still being fought to the 11th hour, here are five positions with various players fighting for a spot on the roster to keep an eye on tonight.
Safety
Last year’s training camp darling was RB Jaylen Warren, and S Kenny Robinson has made a strong case to earn that title for Pittsburgh in 2023. He led the way through all 16 practices with three interceptions, based on Alex Kozora’s training camp stats, showing a nose for the football. He made the most of the increased snaps given to him while S Keanu Neal and Damontae Kazee were on the mend with injuries and S Minkah Fitzpatrick was excused from the team for personal reasons. Getting a shot to run with the first-team defense, he held his own in Latrobe.
Still, Robinson’s lack of versatility could hurt his chances to make the 53 compared to other defensive backs like S Elijah Riley or CB Chandon Sullivan, who can play multiple positions. Robinson may need to make a splash play in the preseason finale against the Falcons to state his case for the roster as his practices have been stellar, but that production hasn’t necessarily translated to the games just yet. Riley is technically listed as a safety and has had the best training camp of the names fighting for a spot. S Tre Norwood has been with the team the last two seasons but has missed most of training camp with a lower leg injury and hasn’t stood out when he has been on the field. Pittsburgh could elect to keep both Riley and Robinson or just settle on Riley due to his position versatility and special teams prowess.
Cornerback
Speaking of Sullivan, the nickel cornerback managed to rebound after a mediocre preseason opener against Tampa Bay, picking off a pass against the Buffalo Bills. He was brought in this offseason to be a potential solution for Pittsburgh at slot cornerback, competing with the likes of Riley and CB Duke Dawson for the job.
Dawson got hurt and is no longer on the team while Riley has had a strong training camp and first two preseason games himself, likely holding a small lead over Sullivan. While the coaching staff may be impressed with Sullivan’s play thus far, he may need to have a strong final performance in Atlanta to not only have a chance to win the slot cornerback job, but also secure a spot on the 53-man roster.
One player that has had an underwhelming training camp and preseason is CB James Pierre, who signed back with the team on a one-year deal after having his RFA tender declined this offseason. He played poorly in Pittsburgh’s preseason opener against Tampa Bay, surrendering six catches on six targets for 92 yards and a touchdown, resulting in a poor 39.6 PFF coverage grade. He had three tackles in Pittsburgh’s second preseason game against the Bills, but the play on the field hasn’t matched what we saw from him when he first arrived in Pittsburgh.
DC Teryl Austin mentioned earlier in training camp that the team needs to figure out where Pierre fits, stating that he thinks Pierre can still provide value to the team, but not knowing if that’s as a depth corner or a special teams guy. For Pierre’s sake, he better prove that he can be more than a special teamer as his position versatility isn’t great as a pure outside corner. To make the 53, Pierre needs to have a strong performance both on defense and on special teams. Given Riley and Sullivan can each play different positions, Pierre is in a similar boat to Robinson. He must stand out to hold onto a roster spot during final roster cutdowns.
Defensive Line
Austin has also mentioned that tough decisions will have to be made along the defensive line, likely resulting in an NFL-caliber player getting cut. With several of those spots locked down by established veterans and young guys, there are a couple of candidates likely fighting for the last couple of spots. One of those players is DL Armon Watts, who was signed to add more depth this offseason and push the likes of DL Isaiahh Loudermilk for a roster spot.
Watts has been by far the better pass rusher during his time in the league than Loudermilk, amassing eight sacks in four seasons, including five in 2021. While Watts and Loudermilk are the same age, Loudermilk has the advantage of being the homegrown guy. He has shown improvement himself this offseason, displaying better play strength as well as mobility, lining up as a base defensive end as well as a standup pass rusher. To unseat Loudermilk as a former Steelers draft pick, Watts may need to get a sack or cause some havoc in the backfield in the preseason finale. That could convince Pittsburgh to give him the final roster spot on the defensive line over one of the other guys in a deep position group.
Other names that may be on the roster bubble are DL Breiden Fehoko and Montravius Adams. Fehoko was brought in to push Adams at nose tackle, being more of a classic run stuffer. Adams has run with the first-team defense for most of training camp and the preseason, suggesting his job may be safe. Still, the Steelers could use a big, sturdy body in the middle of its base defense, and Fehoko can fill that role well as a two-down run plugger should they opt to keep seven defensive linemen. Between Watts, and Loudermilk, one quality depth piece is likely to get cut after tonight.
Backup Center
While C Kendrick Green has looked horrendous yet again in training camp and the preseason, the question of who Pittsburgh’s backup is still is up in the air. Many would figure that IOL Nate Herbig will be the choice as a versatile swing guy who can fill in at guard and center, but he has missed time with a shoulder injury. C Ryan McCollum played guard in Pittsburgh’s last preseason game against the Buffalo Bills, and OL Spencer Anderson saw snaps at center against Buffalo after practicing there for the first time in training camp a few days earlier.
It seems like a foregone conclusion that Green will get the axe after Pittsburgh’s final preseason game against the Falcons and that Herbig and Anderson will make the roster while McCollum may get placed on the practice squad. However, depending on the severity of Herbig’s injury, we may see a scenario in which the Steelers elect to keep Green, at least to start the season, due to his starting experience at center. It may be time to pull the plug on the Kendrick Green experiment in Pittsburgh. Heck, that should’ve happened a long time ago. However, there is still a reality where he may have a chance going into Pittsburgh’s final preseason game, depending on the health of Herbig and how the team feels about Anderson stepping in at center if needed as a rookie.
Inside Linebacker
With the top three inside linebacker positions locked up by Cole Holcomb, Elandon Roberts, and Kwon Alexander, the last three battling for roster spots in the room are Mark Robinson, Tanner Muse, and Nick Kwiatkoski. Robinson should be safe as a Year-Two player still developing, but the final inside linebacker spot could be very well up for grabs between Muse and Kwiatkoski. Muse has the advantage as he has played in both preseason games and has fared well, being named the most impressive backup for Pittsburgh in Week Two by Pro Football Focus.
Kwiatkoski played well against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week One of the preseason, but suffered a shoulder injury that kept him from playing last week against Buffalo. For his sake, Kwiatkoski better play in the preseason finale against Atlanta in order to make the competition harder for the coaches to call after missing time. Kwiatkoski is the older player with Muse known for being a special teams ace. Still, Kwiatkoski has played a lot on special teams himself and has starting experience in the league at inside linebacker for the Bears and Raiders. Should both guys play against Atlanta, that will be a battle to watch, one that could decide both defenders’ fates.
