On a 90-man summer roster, it's hard to spend too much time focusing on each individual player. The popularity of the quarterback position has made this the focal point of the Pittsburgh Steelers' preseason, while fans have been intrigued to watch rookies and newcomers perform this August.
But one player who was recently an afterthought now finds himself in the spotlight... and he already feels like a guaranteed roster lock.
Carson Bruener was one of two seventh-round draft picks for the Steelers in the 2025 NFL Draft. With the 226th overall selection last year, general manager Omar Khan took a shot on the Washington linebacker—and because of his connection to the Steelers (his father is former tight end Mark Bruener), some fans cried nepotism.
However, Bruener has not only proven worthy of his draft selection in his second preseason, but he has a chance to greatly surpass his draft status.
Linebacker Carson Bruener is a Pittsburgh Steelers roster lock after a spectacular August
Through the first two preseason games, nobody has been better or more consistent on the Steelers' roster. The second-year linebacker worked his way up to the second-team defense during training camp before showcasing eye-popping play in exhibition action.
Bruener was one of the lone bright spots for the Steelers in an otherwise depressing preseason performance against the New York Jets in Week 2. The Washington product played in the first half and made his presence felt by flying to the football. His best play resulted in a sack, in which he generated speed-to-power to bulldoze the running back and make his way to the QB.
The Steelers saw enough from Bruener after just nine defensive snaps, and he ultimately earned an outstanding 91.4 overall grade from Pro Football Focus against the Jets ($).
With Elandon Roberts added to the mix after the team's first preseason game, fans were starting to wonder if Bruener might get squeezed off the roster, but this won't be the case. Roberts picked up where he left off in Week 2 of the preseason, as a bullying run defender. But it's likely to be Malik Harrison who will ultimately get the axe at the linebacker position.
Bruener, meanwhile, quietly offers far too much value to the team to cut the second-year linebacker. In addition to the strides he made on defense this summer, he's already an impressive special teams performer and an integral part of this unit. As a rookie in 2025, Bruener logged a whopping 247 special teams snaps.
Now 25 and with a fantastic summer of practice and preseason film, there is zero incentive for the Steelers to part ways with the young linebacker.
Seventh-round draft choices are hardly guaranteed a roster spot in this league, but Carson Bruener has more than earned his paycheck with the team. And it only took a strong performance in August to go from a fringe roster afterthought to a Steelers roster lock.
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