The Pittsburgh Steelers have to cut their roster down to just 53 players by August 31st. Here’s who I believe will make the final cut in 2021.
With August coming to an end, so marks cutdown day in the NFL. For many hopeful players, the journey ends here, while sixteen players who are released could potentially find themselves on their team’s practice squad this year.
Apart from DB Antoine Brooks (who was able to rejoin the team on IR), the Pittsburgh Steelers have not made any surprising cuts to this point. However, that could change very soon. All teams will be asked to cut their rosters down to just 53 players on August 31st. Here are my final roster predictions for the Steelers:
Quarterback (3): Ben Roethlisberger, Mason Rudolph, Dwayne Haskins
This has been the projection all along for most, and it looks like it could hold true after cutdowns – especially with Josh Dobbs suffering an injury in the second half of the preseason finale. Ben Roethlisberger will lead this offense in 2021 with Mason Rudolph backing him up.
While many had hoped that Dwayne Haskins would have shown enough to unseat Rudolph on the depth chart, the Steelers didn’t see it that way, and he certainly didn’t help his cause with an embarrassing showing in his final preseason game against the Panthers.
Though I could make a case for Dobbs being the player holding the clipboard and getting Big Ben prepared for the game, that will likely be Haskins’ job this year. These will likely be your three Pittsburgh quarterbacks for the 2021 season.
Running backs (5): Najee Harris, Anthony McFarland, Kalen Ballage, Benny Snell, Derek Watt (FB)
This is a position that has been debated heavily this offseason. The Steelers essentially swapped James Conner’s roster spot for Najee Harris. However, because the team also added Kalen Ballage this offseason, many wondered what his chances were of making the team, and what it meant for some of the other backs on the roster.
After a solid training camp, I do believe that Ballage has done enough to earn a roster spot – thanks to his ability to do a little bit of everything and play special teams. This means that one player on the roster last year mathematically can’t make the cut.
I consider Anthony McFarland as a lock based on his work with the first-team offense this summer and the fact that he was a fourth-round pick just last year. Because of this, I just barely have Benny Snell edging out Jaylen Samuels for the final running back spot on the team. Both continue to be unspectacular, but the team invested a bit more in Snell and he got the nod as the starter in the final preseason game.
Talent-wise, there isn’t a huge gap between Snell and Samuels, so this has the potential to go either way, but I think the team chooses Snell. They will also keep fullback Derek Watt over Trey Edmunds.
Wide receivers (5): Diontae Johnson, Chase Claypool, JuJu Smith-Schuster, James Washington, Ray-Ray McCloud
I think the wide receiver position is pretty set in stone, and I’d be shocked if they decided to keep an extra player here. Diontae Johnson will start as the ‘X’ receiver for the Steelers this year with Chase Claypool as the ‘Z’ and JuJu Smith-Schuster in the slot.
I’m interested to see what the team chooses to do in ’12’ personnel (2 wide receiver sets with 2 tight ends and running back). Will Claypool or Smith-Schuster earn more snaps with the team with just two receivers on the field?
James Washington, for my money, is one of the best 4th wide receivers in the league. His ideal role is backing up Claypool as the ‘Z’ receiver, but he has shown he can wear multiple hats for this team. Meanwhile, Matthew Sexton was a long shot to unseat Ray-Ray McCloud for punt return duties but botched his final opportunity against the Panthers. Sexton and Anthony Johnson have both been released.
The Steelers really didn’t have a developmental option good enough this year to stick around on the final 53-man roster, so I’m quite confident that Pittsburgh keeps just five receivers again this year.
Tight ends (3): Eric Ebron, Pat Freiermuth, Zach Gentry
If Eric Ebron was a better blocker, this is a position I would seriously consider just keeping two players with two more on the practice squad and promoting someone in the event of an injury. While I don’t think that Zach Gentry or Kevin Rader is deserving of a roster spot, I have Gentry making the cut as my TE3 for the Steelers this year.
Gentry has struggled with inconsistent hands this offseason, and the big, lumbering tight end offers almost nothing after the catch. However, he has the size and frame to continue developing into a quality blocker, and because he was a former fifth-round pick, I think they keep him around for another year.
Ebron will be listed as the starter for the Steelers to begin the season, but Pat Freiermuth outplayed him this summer and should get a lot of opportunity on Pittsburgh’s offense as a rookie.
I think Kevin Rader has an outside chance to earn the final spot on at the position, but like Gentry, he also struggled with drops. Though these two are close, I think the draft capital breaks the tie.
Offensive line (8): Chukwuma Okorafor, Kevin Dotson, Kendrick Green, Trai Turner, Zach Banner, Dan Moore Jr., Joe Haeg, B.J. Finney
The offensive line is always a group that is somewhat challenging to gauge. While we know who the starters are going to be entering the season (the first five names on this list), the backups are a bit mirky at the tail end.
In addition to Pittsburgh’s starting five offensive linemen, I also believe that rookie Dan Moore Jr. and Joe Haeg are locks to make the team, and they each showed some solid play this summer. After them, however, it becomes hard to predict.
The Steelers initially had J.C. Hassenauer listed as their starting center entering training camp, but we knew this wasn’t going to last. Now, I think he could find himself off the roster entirely if they just keep one backup interior player, as B.J. Finney has more experience and size than Hassenauer and can play both guard and center.
Rashaad Coward is the only other player who should be considered to make the team among this group, but I don’t think he showed enough to warrant a roster spot, and I’m predicting Pittsburgh will want to use this spot elsewhere. For my final prediction, I’m going with just eight offensive linemen this year.
Defensive line (7): Cameron Heyward, Stephon Tuitt, Tyson Alualu, Chris Wormley, Isaiahh Loudermilk, Carlos Davis, Henry Mondeaux
This is easily the deepest position on the roster this year. Thus, I have the Steelers taking a roster spot from the offensive line and using it to keep a more talented player along their defensive line.
The starters are set for this team, as Cameron Heyward and Stephon Tuitt should see substantial playing time with Tyson Alualu and Chris Wormly earning a sizeable cut of snaps as well. Though Isaiahh Loudermilk is still raw, his roster spot is going to be reserved, as the Steelers spent a future fourth-round pick to move back into the 2021 NFL Draft and secure him.
The defensive lineman at the bottom of the roster aren’t easy to predict and this will depend on how many the team chooses to keep. In my final prediction, I had the Steelers making one surprise move by letting go of Isaiah Buggs.
It’s not that Buggs has been bad this season, but that he and Carlos Davis essentially serve the same role as the backup nose tackle. Between the two, Davis is a much better and more versatile special teams player, so Danny Smith might get to make this call. I also think Henry Mondeax is underrated. He started for the Steelers in the preseason finale and churned out an 84 overall grade, via PFF. Like Davis, Mondeax offers special teams value, but can also play multiple positions across the defensive line.
Edge defender (5): T.J. Watt, Alex Highsmith, Melvin Ingram, Cassius Marsh, Jamir Jones
In the past, the Steelers have typically only kept four edge defenders on their roster, so I’m going out on a limb here and having them keep five this year. I typically try to avoid a move like this when it goes against what they’ve done in the past (as I try to predict the roster as accurately as possible); however, keeping five just seems to make sense.
Instead of using this roster spot on another offensive lineman like Rashad Coward, Pittsburgh could get another core special teams player in Jamir Jones – who has had an excellent preseason this year. Jones has earned the most special teams snaps of any Steelers player in the preseason and was the highest-graded player on the team in this department.
The top three players in T.J. Watt, Alex Highsmith, and Melvin Ingram are obvious roster locks, so I won’t spend any time talking about them. This essentially comes down to how many edge defenders will the Steelers keep and which of the three best remaining will make the roster.
I get the feeling the Steelers still like Cassius Marsh as a special teams player and reserve edge defender, and if Danny Smith gets a say, he could stick around. I have Jones making it as the additional player this year with 6th-round rookie Quincy Roche missing the cut and landing on the practice squad after waivers.
Linebackers (5): Joe Schobert, Devin Bush, Buddy Johnson, Robert Spillane, Marcus Allen
I think I have all five players right here. However, I will say that we don’t know the extent of Marcus Allen’s injury at this point in time. If his hamstring injury is severe enough, this could force him to land on IR.
As of now, I’m going to assume that he’s the final off-ball linebacker who makes the squad. The Steelers will deploy a healthy dose of Joe Schobert and Devin Bush. In fact, I don’t expect either to leave the field very often, and it’s possible that one of the two could end up flexing out to cover the slot in dime packages (though adding another defensive back could be in the cards).
Behind the starters, Robert Spillane had a bad training camp and preseason, but he’s likely still the first off the bench (especially if needed on potential running downs) and he should be used on special teams. I also have rookie Buddy Johnson as an essential roster lock this year, but will probably play sparingly on defense.
The decision here came down to Allen or Ulysees Gilbert III – the latter wasn’t very impressive this summer. I think Allen has a chance to serve as a dime backer for the Steelers this year and can be used on passing downs if need be in addition to offering special teams value.
Cornerbacks (5): Joe Haden, Cameron Sutton, James Pierre, Justin Layne, Arthur Maulet
In my opinion, Isaiah Buggs is the best player I left off the Steelers roster in my final 53-man prediction. However, if I could get one additional spot for Pittsburgh, I might use it to keep cornerback Mark Gilbert. Despite being an undrafted free agent this year, Gilbert has the size and athletic traits worth gambling flashed this summer. He has the potential to compete at outside cornerback down the line and was impressive on special teams.
However, I did have Gilbert just missing the mark this year and landing on the practice squad. Instead, I have the Steelers keeping just five cornerbacks with Antoine Brooks now in IR.
Joe Haden, Cameron Sutton, and James Pierre are all roster locks in my mind, and cutting Justin Layne was never as likely as what some people wanted to believe. I think Layne makes the roster pretty easily, in fact.
I also nickel defensive back Arthur Maulet rounding out the roster. Maulet has been less than impressive but makes the roster by default due to a lack of depth in nickel. I think this is very likely to be a position the team tries to upgrade after cutdowns.
Safeties (4): Minkah Fitzpatrick, Terrell Edmunds, Miles Killebrew, Tre Norwood
I think the safety position is pretty straightforward this year, thanks to a severe lack of competition behind the starters. Minkah Fitzpatrick and Terrell Edmunds will essentially never leave the field, but if an injury occurs, this group gets really concerning in a hurry.
Backing up Fitzpatrick is 7th round rookie Tre Norwood. While Norwood impressed at times this summer, he’s been very inconsistent as well, and I thought he had a pretty bad game in the preseason finale. Still, he’s better than the alternatives, so I think he makes the roster.
Miles Killebrew looks set to backup Edmunds at strong safety. Killebrew is a veteran who has been around the league for a while but has really never been anything more than a special teams stud. He’s expected to do most of his damage here, assuming Edmunds stays healthy.
This is another position I believe the team could look to upgrade following cuts – specifically backup-free safety. The team could get Norwood on the practice squad if an opportunity arose to improve Minkah’s backup this year. Norwood could contribute down the line, but he’s probably not the player we want starting in a pinch.
Special teams (3): Chris Boswell, Pressley Harvin III, Christian Kuntz
After Sam Sloman was cut, Chris Boswell remained the only kicker on the Steelers roster. With his contract and the spectacular season he had in 2020, there was no question about his position on the team. Boswell wasn’t going anywhere, and he could continue his streak as one of the most accurate kickers in the league.
Punter is a bit of a different story. Though I do have rookie Pressley Harvin III making the team over veteran Jordan Berry, this race is much closer than many fans want to believe, and it’s one that I can really see going either way. Still, I think Harvin slightly edges out Berry for the punter job this year.
As far as the long snapper goes, it’s interesting that the Steelers have kept Christian Kuntz around so long. This makes me think that he’s got a real chance of making over Kameron Canaday, who has been here since taking over for Greg Warren in 2017. It’s unusual, but I have Pittsburgh going with two new specialists this year.
I’m very interested to see the final results of the Steelers roster, but this should give you a good idea of the direction they will go with the final 53. Stay tuned!