Everything that you need to know about the Steelers preseason schedule

Steelers fans should monitor these three dates during the pre-season

The NFL is notorious for its different stages of cut-down days to get the roster to its conclusion. Rosters will be shrunk down from 90 players to the final form of the 53 men that make the team over the next couple of weeks. Steelers fans need to keep these dates in the back of their minds as the pre-season chugs along.

August 16: Rosters must go from 90 to 85 players

This is the first of the cut-down days for NFL teams to submit. This will happen only three days after the conclusion of Pittsburgh’s first pre-season game against the Seahawks. Most of the names released will be the bottom of the roster guys that many might not even recognize the names of.

August 23: Rosters must go from 85 to 80 players

The next cut-down day only releases another five players from the roster and allows for most players in the hunt to stay alive. There could be one or two names that are more noticeable than the previous cut-down day, but it likely will not be anything shocking. This will lead to the last shot for those that make this cut down to 80.

August 30: Rosters must go from 80 to 53 players

The Steelers will need to make their final decisions for their initial iteration of the 53-man roster just two days after their final pre-season game. This is when some surprising cuts could occur as many think their roster projection could be the right one. Even though certain players make the first 53-man roster, there is always movement afterward that brings changes along with it.