These six Steelers either had a role or were expected to take one on at some point in their career, but now, they find themselves squarely on the roster bubble.
The Steelers enter camp with more positions up for grabs than they are typically accustomed to. While veterans have a natural edge when entering camp due to their experience, all of that can change from an upstart rookie or futures player that begins to get some hype. Sometimes, this hype dies down quickly, but other times the player can stick. This comes at the cost of one of the aforementioned veterans.
Steelers have a history of open camp competitions
While the Steelers tend to favor veterans over young options, it hasn’t stopped them from keeping underdogs and moving on from the experienced options. Players like Devlin Hodges, Mike Hilton, and James Pierre all excelled enough in camp to unseat a veteran in some sort of way (Hodges’s talent compelled the team to trade third-string quarterback Josh Dobbs, granted). Whenever one of these players is kept though, it comes at the expense of a veteran typically. While most of the positions on the teams’ roster favor the veterans entering camp, new additions could threaten their roster spot. Here are the six Steelers veterans that are squarely on the roster bubble entering camp.
Ulysses Gilbert III
It is a stretch to call former sixth-round pick Ulysees Gilbert a veteran given his erratic play over the past two seasons, but considering the hype around him last season, he fits this list. Gilbert was an athletic prospect that the team was hoping to pair with Devin Bush down the road. This seemed to be a possibility sooner than later, as the then-rookie was dominant during the preseason and played well on special teams during his rookie year before ending the year on injured reserve.
Last year, there were talks that Gilbert would make the leap to starter and eventually replace Vince Williams. Instead, the same back injury that nagged him his rookie season came back to derail his second season. Now, with the addition of Buddy Johnson, Gilbert finds himself buried on the depth chart. He not only needs to prove that he can stay healthy, but that he still has that starting potential that he flashed during year one.
Marcus Allen
There had been talks seemingly since he was drafted that Marcus Allen would make the transition from safety to linebacker. Despite being a little smaller Allen’s physical nature as safety and mediocre athleticism made him a more natural fit as a downhill linebacker than a traditional safety. He had his growing pains, but he performed well when called upon due to injury.
The problem is similar to Gilbert’s, as the Steelers drafted Johnson in the fourth round of the draft. Considering his top-level athleticism and draft status, it is hard to write him off the roster at this point. This means Gilbert and Allen are fighting for potentially one spot. Allen’s playtime from last year seems to favor his odds, but he wasn’t particularly dynamic when on the field.
Despite being a former safety, Allen still gave up a relatively high quarterback rating of 93.3 when being targeted. For a linebacker that would be considered a coverage specialist, that number simply isn’t good enough. What really benefits Allen is that linebacker isn’t a deep position right now, meaning this fight is likely between him and Gilbert assuming the team keeps five here. That said, if Gilbert can flash anything as he did during his rookie preseason, Allen may find his time on the Steelers to be over.
J.C. Hassenauer
Credit where credit is due, the Steelers seemingly got far more out of J.C. Hassenauer than anyone expected them to. He was a “break glass in case of emergency” option last season, but due to various injuries along the line, he saw action in 15 total games and started four of them. No, he wasn’t elite, but he more than held his own as an injury replacement.
Unfortunately, his role with the team seems to have been upgraded this offseason. B.J. Finney has more familiarity and better versatility along the interior of the line. Meanwhile, third-round draft pick Kendrick Green will likely be the center of the future and should be in line for snaps sooner than later. This leaves Hassenauer as the odd man out, as center is now two men deep with both options being clearly better than him.
The real issue is that Hassenauer doesn’t have the size to be effective elsewhere on the line. 6’2, 295 as a center is considered undersized, so the odds of him being an effective swing reserve seems unlikely. As well, the team signed Rashaad Coward during free agency. He has started more games and has the far better size to serve as an interior reserve lineman. Even he isn’t a slam dunk to make the roster though. Despite his valiant effort last season, Haussenauer is on the outside looking in during camp. Luckily for him, linemen have a lot of value, so he could find a job elsewhere this year, but it doesn’t seem like the Steelers need him anymore.
Isaiah Buggs
There was a lot to like about Isaiah Buggs when he was drafted out of Alabama. While he was slightly undersized for a typical defensive end, he had the pass-rushing potential to make an impact as a reserve lineman and could potentially fill in at nose tackle down the road if he develops properly. The Steelers seemed to like what they saw in him his rookie season as well since the Steelers used him as a rotational player during the latter half of the season.
There was a lot of hope that Buggs would take that next step last year and either become the next man up at either nose tackle or defensive end. When the team traded for Chris Wormley, he quickly manned the rotational defensive end spot, but the battle for nose tackle was wide open. No one expected Tyson Alualu to be such a natural fit there, but snaps could still be had as a backup at the position. Unfortunately, Buggs lost out to those snaps once Carlos Davis began seeing the field more.
Even before the draft this year Buggs was on the bubble, as Henry Mondeaux is a valuable special team’s option even if he is a below-average defender. Then, the team drafted Isaiahh Loudermilk via a trade-up into the fifth round. It would be a shock to see them cut such an investment, meaning that Buggs is likely auditioning for another team during camp. He really seemed to lose favor with the team late into last season, and now it appears as he will be looking for a new home in 2021.
Justin Layne
Justin Layne seems like the prototypical Steelers cornerback draft selection, and unfortunately, that isn’t a good thing. He had a great frame and solid athleticism coming out of Michigan St., but he was raw in coverage as he was a converted receiver. He needed a lot of coaching up and development in the pros, and unfortunately, he went to a team renowned for not being able to develop corners.
To this point, it appears as though he will likely continue down the path of disappointing cornerbacks drafted by Kevin Colbert. All of this despite there being a wide-open starting cornerback role open with Steven Nelson being cut. Unfortunately, it seems like Layne was already jumped on the depth chart by then undrafted rookie Pierre. On top of this, the team added a similar lengthy player in Stephen Denmark as a futures player and the talented albeit injured undrafted player in Mark Gilbert.
Now, Layne should, on paper, be ahead of any of these options given his solid special teams value and draft investment. The issue now is that he was arrested earlier this offseason for some traffic and firearms violations. For a player that has struggled so far, this was the last thing he needed. Unless he really shows out and steps up to replace Nelson, the Steelers may move on from the disappointing third-round pick.
Benny Snell Jr.
Benny Snell was put on notice by the Steelers this offseason, and it wasn’t when Najee Harris was drafted. For all intents and purposes, everyone expected the team to come away with their new starting running back in the draft this year. The drafting of Harris in the first round isn’t what altered Snell’s standing with the team. Instead, it was the signing of Kalen Ballage.
Now, Ballage isn’t any sort of an elite playmaking running back either. What he offers is a short-yardage and goal-line back that has a nose for the end zone. Heading into this season, that is Snell’s presumed role since he obviously won’t be starting over Harris. The issue is, Ballage has been far more effective in that role as a pro. The Steelers were abysmal in short-yardage last season, and part of that was due to Snell’s general ineffectiveness when on the field.
Now, the argument could be made that the team will carry four running backs on the roster as they have in the previous few seasons, but the drafting of Harris makes that seem unlikely. The Steelers got their bell-cow back, so there isn’t a need for an extra body on the depth chart. This means Snell and Ballage could be fighting for one spot on the roster. Ballage is better in that role and is also a better athlete. The only thing Snell has over him is special teams’ ability, but that may not be enough to win him a spot on the roster.
While the Steelers are a team that favors veterans on the depth chart, these six options seem to be on the outside looking in ahead of camp. While not all of them have starting experience, each of them have either been valuable backups or were expected to take on a substantial role at some point. Unfortunately, it looks as if their time with the Steelers could be coming to a close soon.