The Pittsburgh Steelers wrapped up their annual mandatory minicamp last week and on the heels of those practice sessions ending, we will wait and see how the offseason roster changes moving forward toward the start of the 2024 regular season. While several more transactions are obviously on the way as the Steelers proceed through training camp, the organization’s history tells us that a few players are still likely to be added who will ultimately be a part of the team’s Week 1 53-man roster.
According to my research, and dating back to 2012, the Steelers have added 36 players to their offseason roster who weren’t with the team once its annual mandatory minicamp ended who ended up on the team’s Week 1 53-man roster that same year. That’s an average of three players per year. On top of that, there was only one year, 2019, that no players added to the offseason roster after mandatory minicamp ended, or would have ended, wound up on the Week 1 53-man roster.
Just last season, the Steelers added ILB Kwon Alexander and CB Desmond King II to their offseason roster well after training camp got underway. Both players went on to make the Week 1 53-man roster.
In 2022, the Steelers added four players to their roster after mandatory minicamp with two of them, OL Jesse Davis and OLB Malik Reed, coming via trades right before the regular season started. All four players, one of which was DT Larry Ogunjobi, wound up on the Week 1 53-man roster that season.
If you’re hoping for a trade acquisition by the Steelers between now and the start of Week 1 of the 2024 regular season, I have good news to pass along. Of the 36 aforementioned players added post-mandatory minicamps dating back to 2012, 11 of them came via trades. That’s an average of almost one per season.
On Wednesday, the Steelers announced they have parted ways with WR Denzel Mims and S Trenton Thompson and that results in the roster now including 89 players. With two open roster spots, we can count on the Steelers filling those soon. Will those additions come in the form of UFL players? It’s possible, but even so, more offseason roster shuffling is sure to occur, especially once training camp gets underway in July.
As far as possible significant additions go for the Steelers moving forward, one can only hope that an experienced wide receiver might be on that list at some point. For most of this offseason, and especially since the 2024 NFL Draft ended, there has been a ton of speculation that the Steelers should and will trade for an experienced wide receiver before the regular season starts.
The Steelers’ cap situation as it sits in the middle of June would allow for a significant trade acquisition at the wide receiver position. Even so, there have been no hard signs that such a trade for a wide receiver is imminent. Additionally, it’s worth reminding everyone that significant NFL trades don’t usually occur in the month of June. In the meantime, just keep your fingers crossed.
With us now being in the deadest portion of the NFL offseason, all I can say at this point is to be patient. A lot of things can still happen between now and the start of the regular season. Personally, I will be surprised if the Week 1 53-man roster doesn’t include at least one player who wasn’t with the team once its mandatory minicamp ended. History, after all, indicates more help is on the way for the 2024 Steelers.
