One of the things you can’t have enough of in the modern NFL is depth. The Pittsburgh Steelers have worked to build that depth with competition throughout the offseason. With a top-to-bottom competitive roster, head coach Mike Tomlin believes that guys stepping up across the 90-man roster to challenge one another will help build more depth.
“I’m not looking at it from a depth perspective right now, I’m just really interested in giving the 90 guys that are here an opportunity to show what they’re capable of and in the midst of that, it will be revealed to us,” Tomlin said in a press conference via the team’s YouTube channel. We respect all 90, we’re looking forward to them stating a case for themselves. And obviously, we feel good about the 90 that we have that it’s highly competitive and that creates the depth.”
With the NFL changing its rules and just going to one cutdown day this year, on Aug. 29, the Steelers will have a full 90-man roster for all three of their preseason contests. Giving every player on the roster a shot to prove themselves breeds competition across the board, with everyone knowing they need to step up to earn a spot on the final 53-man roster. That’ll make guys work harder and play better. As Tomlin said, that helps create depth.
There are a number of underrated position battles that are left to be decided. The fight for No. 3 running back job, the battle between Nick Kwiatkoski and Tanner Muse for the final inside linebacker spot, and multiple guys vying to be the last safety on the roster are just a few battles that could come down to the very last day. Being able to hold a full roster and give guys every opportunity to compete can help make the roster more well-rounded as the coaching staff and front office is more informed given the increased body of work with more roster flexibility.
With just two preseason games left though, it’s going to be important for guys who are on the bubble to make an impact on Saturday when Pittsburgh takes on the Buffalo Bills in its second preseason game. The more noteworthy performances guys like Anthony McFarland Jr. can string together, the better their chances are going to be of sticking on the roster over their competition, both inside and outside the organization.
It’s going to be a fun few weeks to see how Pittsburgh’s roster shakes out. But one thing is for sure, and that’s that Pittsburgh won’t be lacking in depth at most spots.
