Which player should Steelers cut to get Tuzar Skipper on the roster?

The Steelers are just hours away from finalizing their 2019 player cuts. Here is who Pittsburgh should cut to make sure Tuzar Skipper is on the roster.

Steelers outside linebacker is at the center of attention in Pittsburgh right now, and for good reason. Originally brought in as an undrafted rookie to be a camp body, Skipper has more than proven his worth to this team.

Tuzar Skipper collected 5.0 sacks in 4 partial preseason games. He earned a 90.4 overall grade from Pro Football Focus, and has given the Steelers every reason to keep him around this year.

Unfortunately, Pittsburgh rarely keeps more than four edge rushers on their team.

T.J. Watt, Bud Dupree, and Anthony Chickillo are all locks to make the roster. 21-year old edge defender Ola Adeniyi recently suffered a torn meniscus, but he was perhaps the most impressive player in training camp prior to being injured, and he should be on the Steelers roster this year.

That means that Skipper would be the odd man out. However, there are ways of getting around this. Skipper has been far too good to let another team jump in with a waiver claim.

So who should the Steelers cut to make room for Tuzar Skipper?

While most people are pointing to the fact that the Steelers are already too deep at linebacker, this doesn’t mean that Pittsburgh has to part with one.

The Steelers could get Skipper on the roster by keeping one less offensive lineman. Pittsburgh’s offensive line put on one of the worst performances I have seen by a unit in recent years during their preseason finale against the Panthers.

The offensive linemen who should make the team include all five starters and interior chess piece, B.J. Finney. Outside of him, most anyone is game.

Jerald Hawkins should be an easy cut, and Derwin Gray hasn’t played well enough as a rookie to stick on the roster for the Steelers. Pittsburgh typically keeps eight offensive lineman. This means that either Zach Banner, Chukwuma Okorafor, or Fred Johnson isn’t going to make the team.

Chuks has the benefit of holding a 3rd round pick over his head, but he has been outplayed this offseason by Zach Banner. Meanwhile, Fred Johnson offers some versatility and has had a solid camp.

Though Okorafor has played the worst of the three, the Steelers would be hard-pressed to give up on last years’ 3rd round pick so easily. Because of this, cutting Fred Johnson may be the right thing to do for the Steelers.

B.J. Finney has proven capable to handle the backup role to all three interior offensive line positions. This would leave both Okorafor and Banner to battle it out as the primary swing tackle.

One way or another, the Steelers need to find a way to keep Tuzar Skipper on this roster before they reach the 4:00 PM deadline. We are all hoping the Toledo product can be a productive member of the Steelers moving forward. We just have to make it past tomorrow.