Steelers 53-man roster almost exactly what many fans were hoping for

The Pittsburgh Steelers cut their roster down to just 53 players yesterday. Here’s why the decisions they made were almost exactly what fans were hoping for.

Steelers fans around the nation were holding their breath on Saturday as Pittsburgh’s front office worked on cutting over 40 percent of their roster to get down to just 53 players.

Seemingly every year, there are moves that we don’t agree with. While there were a few surprise cuts, the Steelers fan base seemed to be well pleased with most of their decisions.

Keeping Tuzar Skipper was priority number one for any Steelers fan who watched the undrafted rookie’s dominant performances this preseason. Pittsburgh rarely keeps more than four outside linebackers on the roster, and 21-year old standout, Ola Adeniyi, had done more than enough to earn a spot on the 53.

Skipper was a long shot to make the team just weeks ago, but his play during the preseason was too spectacular to ignore.

Fans were also well pleased with the Steelers decision to keep 6th round rookie linebacker, Ulysees Gilbert. The Akron product was extremely noticeable during the preseason, as he made one splash play after another.

Gilbert too was once considered a strong practice squad candidate, but his play soon elevated himself to the final roster.

As an added bonus, the Steelers were able to deal offensive tackle Jerald Hawkins to the Buccaneers in a pick-swap trade that will give Pittsburgh a 6th round selection in 2021 in exchange for Hawkins and a 2021 7th round pick. Hawkins undoubtedly would have been cut anyway.

Unfortunately, there are always hiccups in roster cuts and not everything went exactly the way Steelers fans were hoping for. I voiced my opinion about the wide receiver position on Twitter before Pittsburgh made their final cuts:

I thought there was a coins-flip chance that either Eli Rogers or Johnny Holton would make the team. While many fans were pushing for Holton after an electrifying preseason, the Steelers (to the surprise of many) elected to part ways with both receivers.

Cutting back at receiver, however, was likely the decision that allowed Pittsburgh to keep an extra outside linebacker (i.e. Tuzar Skipper).

Fans will always find something to complain about after roster cuts (myself included). But for the most part, Steelers fans got almost everything they could have wanted out of the roster moves yesterday. We can just be thankful that we aren’t Houston Texans fans right now.