With the Steelers roster set, for now, these five players really didn’t need to make the final 53-man crew.
With the Steelers roster seemingly set, for now, the faces on the 53-man roster now must begin focusing on getting ready for a full season of play. That said, some of the players that ended up making the final cut were surprises, to say the least.
No matter if it was for their own mediocre play, the solid play of others, or better options being available on the market, some of the roster spots on the team would have been better off going to someone else. Here are the five Steelers that really didn’t have to make the final roster.
Steelers Ulysees Gilbert
While there was a lot of hope that Ulysees Gilbert would recapture some of the magic he had during his rookie camp, he was ultimately a camp disappointment. He had trouble making reads, securing tackles, and making plays in coverage. While he has been a good special teams player when he is healthy, Marcus Allen seems to have taken on a more permanent role with that unit. Gilbert’s mediocre camp put him on the outside looking in.
That was all before the team traded for Joe Schobert. After that, his only chance of making the roster was either by an injury or if the team surprisingly kept six off-ball linebackers. Low and behold, the team did just that. This came at the expense of the secondary and edge rushers though, and as a result, the overall defense is weaker with him on the roster. There was little need to keep six off-ball linebackers, especially for a player as disappointing as Gilbert.
Steelers Isaiah Buggs
While keeping six off-ball linebackers was a roster surprise, keeping eight defensive linemen was even more shocking. Sure, Stephon Tuitt went to injured reserve shortly afterward, so in essence, the team only kept seven there, but it was still surprising to see no major cuts be made along the defensive line. Of the three players competing for the roster spot, Isaiah Buggs was the least deserving of a spot.
I almost leaned Henry Mondeaux here, but he has the unique special team’s skill set to be able to run down kicks, a rare sight for a defensive lineman. With a veteran like Melvin Ingram not seeing special team’s reps, having a player like Mondeaux makes sense. Carlos Davis had a strong camp and continues to impress in limited action. He too flashed some unique special team skills and overall makes the most sense as the backup nose tackle.
Buggs in no way had a bad camp, but he has likely reached his ceiling as an NFL player. While he is a fine reserve in that right, it wasn’t worth a roster spot with this group being as deep as it was. The Steelers could have kept him on the practice squad if they really wanted to or even could have attempted to trade him. Keeping him as the seventh defensive lineman though really wasn’t needed.
Steelers B.J. Finney
The Steelers interior line depth in training camp was actually one of the deeper ones. While it lacked a true star (although Kevin Dotson could soon change that notion), it made up for it by having a handful of capable reserves. A surprise amongst the group was Rashaad Coward, as he was playing a load of starter snaps due to injuries along the interior of the line.
On the flip side, B.J. Finney had a relatively quiet camp. While he looked fine, he never ascended past a backup at either guard or center. Yet, the team decided to keep all six of their interior depth along the line. Compare that to the three tackles they kept, and it was an interesting move, to say the least.
In my opinion, Finney would have made more sense on the practice squad as opposed to being on the active roster. He could have been called up at a moment’s notice for help at either guard or center. His interest around the league likely wasn’t that great, as he had the opportunity to go elsewhere after the Steelers briefly cut him. Instead, he will be on the active roster fighting be active each week due to the plethora of other interior line options.
Steelers Arthur Maulet
After Mike Hilton departed in free agency, the Steelers had a huge hole at their slot cornerback position. While Cameron Sutton manned that role last year in injury relief, he is set to make the transition to an outside cornerback. The team signed Arthur Maulet shortly after the draft in hopes that he could help provide some sort of relief there. Overall, though, his camp wasn’t anything spectacular.
What’s frustrating is that the league saw an influx of slot-capable players get released during the final roster cutdowns this year. Names like Jimmy Moreland and Desmond Trufant could have joined the team to serve as the slot corner, or at worst, the backup with Sutton moving inside. Instead, the Steelers opted for familiarity over anything else.
Worse yet, the team actually initially cut Maulet as a part of their final releases. This was only for a day, as the team had to move some players to injured reserve, but even without him on the roster, the Steelers still decided to stick with him as opposed to anyone else. It shouldn’t be a huge blow in the season unless some injuries occur, but there were quite a few better options than Maulet for the team to have signed.
Steelers Benny Snell
This one really doesn’t make any sense. Benny Snell did next to nothing during camp. Granted, he was injured through most of it, but Snell was never putting up highlight reels even when healthy. This seems more like a case of the team knowing him and his style of play as opposed to him earning this actual roster spot.
The problem is two-fold though. For starters, Kalen Ballage outplayed Snell in the preseason easily. He was the best all-around back on the team not named Najee Harris and he put up some good preseason tape. The Steelers kept both players though (a nonsensical move to begin with) as well as Anthony McFarland. While McFarland was placed on injured reserve shortly after the initial rounds of cuts, it seems as though Snell is here for the season.
That gives the team four running backs on the roster. Considering they spent a first-round pick on Harris, this seems excessive. Snell has offered the team little on top of this, yet he has maintained his role as the top backup running back on the depth chart. With other, more talented names getting released, the team should have opted for some fresh talent in the backfield. Instead, Snell was handed it after doing barely anything during the preseason.
While the Steelers roster has quite a bit of talent on it, these five players are a little puzzling as to why they made it after camp. For some, their performances were bad; others, they were outplayed by other players. No matter what though, these five players did not need to make the Steelers’ final roster.