4 Steelers that should be cut before taking a snap in 2021

Steelers Justin Layne

Of all the names on this list, Justin Layne has the best overall odds of making the roster. In part, this is due to the utter lack of cornerback depth on the roster due to the departures of Mike Hilton and Steven Nelson. With James Pierre leapfrogging Layne on the depth chart though, he will likely have to keep gritting his teeth on special teams if he wants to remain on the Steelers roster.

While there is no problem keeping a player purely for his special teams’ value, it ideally won’t come at the expense of some of the other players on this roster. Stephen Denmark is a similar style of cornerback from a smaller school that had serious potential before he was drafted by the Bears. As well, undrafted free agent Mark Gilbert has some injury questions he needs to answer, but he has the potential to be a key contributor if he can still play as he did earlier in his career.

Better yet, Layne may still have some sort of meager trade value. No, he wouldn’t fetch anything near the third-round pick that the Steelers used for him, but he could net a late-round pick. Of course, this would be up to either Gilbert or Denmark showing enough to warrant them making the roster, but if either did, Layne shouldn’t be on this roster by the time the regular season starts.

These four names have had varying amounts of playing time and success with the Steelers in recent years, but all four of them are likely entering their final camp. There are better options elsewhere on the roster, so the Steelers should be comfortable in moving on once the roster gets cut down. These four players should not play a snap for the team during the regular season.