Steelers roster: Predicting the next 5 cuts Pittsburgh will be forced to make
By Tommy Jaggi
NFL teams must cut their roster down from 85 to 80 players by August 24th. Here are the next five cuts the Pittsburgh Steelers could make.
The first wave of roster cuts are complete as the Steelers were forced to release kicker Sam Sloman, offensive tackle Brandon Walton, wide receiver Isaiah McKoy, cornerback Stephen Denmark, and defensive tackle Abdullah Anderson. Now Pittsburgh awaits more difficult decisions: choosing which five players to cut next.
The 90-man NFL roster was cut down to 85 players by 4:00 P.M. Eastern Time on August 17th, and teams will have to cut down to 80 players by the same time on August 24th. It’s hard to say exactly which players will hit the road before Pittsburgh’s final preseason game against the Carolina Panthers, but here’s why these five Steelers could be the next to be released:
DL T.J. Carter
We haven’t heard T.J. Carter’s name called very often during training camp, as the former Kentucky product has failed to make a lot of splash plays running with the third-team defense.
Carter wasn’t a very productive player in college – earning just 12.5 tackles for a loss and 6.0 sacks over a four-year span from 2019-2016. After going undrafted in 2020, Carter was signed to the Steelers 90-man roster a few weeks prior to the 2021 NFL Draft. Unfortunately, it looks like his journey could be ending here.
The odds were greatly stacked against Carter as defensive line is arguably the best and deepest position on the team. With the Steelers bringing back Tyson Alualu and Chris Wormley as well as moving back into the draft to take Isaiahh Loudermilk, Carter never stood a chance. If he’s not cut on August 24th, he will be gone by the 31st.