Pittsburgh Steelers: 5 takeaways from final 53-man roster

The Pittsburgh Steelers trimmed their roster to 53 and have an extra in Le’Veon Bell who has not signed his franchise tag. There were some surprises in this cutdown.

For the most part, everyone knew how this roster would look before the final cuts came. But as players were traded and signed, questions began to arise, and the Steelers’ 53-man roster became more and more difficult to predict.

Now that it’s over, there were definitely some shockers. Players who’ve been around for a long time, and some who should’ve done much better in their short time in the Steel City now look for a new home.

So, what were the biggest takeaways from the Steelers’ final roster cuts?

1. The Steelers decided to part ways with Sammie Coates

The Steelers traded Sammy Coates to the Browns in exchange for the sixth round pick they traded for Justin Gilbert. The Steelers also included a seventh round pick in that exchange. This shocked me a bit as I thought the Steelers were more fond of Sammie Coates with his deep threat ability, special teams capability and raw size and speed.

2. Terrell Watson won the third running back job

Terrell Watson was given the opportunity to start the last preseason game, and he did not disappoint. In the first half, he ran for 85 yards. Even better he was kept on the roster over Knile Davis and Fitzgerald Toussant. The Knile Davis cut came at somewhat of a surprise as Kevin Colbert’s free agents usually make the 53 man roster.

3. Daniel McCullers was kept

This move somewhat surprised me. McCullers has been struggling and was put on the third team defense in training camp. This signaled that the Steelers were ready to move on from McCullers for a more robust nose tackle. The fact that the Steelers kept him comes as a surprise.

4. David Johnson was cut

This was a surprising cut as David Johnson had an okay preseason. I was surprised they cut him because the Steelers usually carve out a role for a blocking tight end. They have done this in years past with both Matt Spaeth and David Johnson. It looks like they will go with three pass catching tight ends this year.

5. Colin Holba was Cut

It has seemed to be somewhat of a carousel as the Steelers cut Colin Holba today to keep Kameron Canaday on the team as the long snapper. Greg Warren held the job for many years, and so it was surprising for Steelers fans when a sixth round draft pick was used on a long snapper.

Next: Steelers final 53-man roster

This seemed like a good draft pick until Holba sent a high snap in the preseason which led to Chris Boswell missing a kick. At this point, Canady became the more trustworthy option.