After the Pittsburgh Steelers played their final preseason game against the Atlanta Falcons Thursday night, the coaching staff and front office begin the process of deciding who is going to stick on the league-mandated 53-man roster for the regular season and who will get cut as Pittsburgh makes 37 cuts to get down from the 90-man roster they have carried through training camp.
By August 29 at 4pm EST, every NFL team will have to have their roster cut down. However, when Bob Labriola of Steelers.com asked head coach Mike Tomlin how soon he plans on making those necessary roster cuts after the Falcons game, Tomlin said that he isn’t planning on rushing the process as the team has time between the game and the deadline to make those decisions as thoroughly as possible.
“You know, there’s no need to cut the roster until you have to cut the roster to be quite honest with you, Tomlin told Bob Labriola per Steelers.com. “You could be making strategic plans relative to that decision, but no need to turn in the scorecard early. So those decisions are kind of ongoing. That mindset in terms of what our 53 might look like and how we divide the labor up, I’m processing that as we speak. But in terms of decision making, you know, it has been our general principle or approach that there is no need to make those types of decisions until you have to.”
As Tomlin mentioned above, there isn’t a need for Pittsburgh to “turn their scorecard in early” when the team has four days in-between the final preseason game and the cutdown deadline day. This will allow the Steelers to methodically go through the process of properly constructing the best roster possible as well as try and decide who to cut and sign back to the practice squad that won’t get poached by another team to their active roster.
Taking time to make decisions will also allow Pittsburgh to watch the rest of the league make moves, seeing if players they covet from other teams get cut that they could sign to their active roster or practice squad. Should a player at a position of need like a backup center or a capable slot cornerback get cut from an opposing team, Pittsburgh could opt to sign them which could change the makeup of their own 53-man roster regarding who they decide to keep and decide to give their walking papers.
Tough decisions are going to have to be made here this coming weekend across the NFL. However, that doesn’t mean that the Steelers need to rush the process. Rather, they can take their time, see what other opportunities are presented to them via other roster cuts or potential trade options, and factor those into the final equation regarding how their initial 53-man roster shakes out.
