5 Steelers quickly losing leverage on 2021 roster spots

Steelers Ulysees Gilbert

If there was one Steelers defender that everyone should have looked forward to watching, it was Ulysees Gilbert. The former sixth-round pick was a demon on special teams and looked great as a defender in his rookie preseason before back injuries derailed his first two seasons. While his play in camp hasn’t been horrible, he has looked like a weak point on defense during the actual preseason games.

This didn’t mean his roster spot was at stake (the team will likely carry five off-ball linebackers on their roster, but the recent trade for Joe Schobert has really muddied the waters. Now, Gilbert is back to where he was before Vince Williams retired. Unless his play really picks up over the final two games of the preseason, he seems like an extremely likely cut candidate.

Buddy Johnson has shined (and his roster spot was pretty secure as a fourth-round pick anyway). This leaves one spot for him and Marcus Allen to fight for. Allen has taken on a lot of Jordan Dangerfield’s special teams’ roles though, so he seems like the more secure player. Gilbert has really seen his stock tumble in camp, and it seems likely that he doesn’t make this final roster once camp ends.