As we approach the summer, NFL teams are looking to put the finishing touches on their 90-man summer roster. Sometimes this involves cutting players and adding depth at bigger positions of need. This could be the case for the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2024.
The reality of the situation is that roughly 40 percent of the players each team carries through the summer will not make the 53-man roster. When it comes to players on the roster bubble, we could see some changes.
Some of these players either don't fit the direction of the team or come at a position where their chances of making the roster are slim to none. Here are three Pittsburgh Steelers players who are candidates to be cut heading into the summer.
WR Denzel Mims
Denzel Mims was once a Senior Bowl standout and NFL Combine star before being selected in the second round (59th overall) by the New York Jets in 2020. Oh, how the mighty have fallen. Despite his size and athletic traits, Mims proved to be extremely inefficient and ineffective on the Jets -- catching just 42 of 92 targets and failing to record a touchdown in 3 seasons.
Mims landed with the Steelers last year, but after signing a trio of receivers during the 2024 offseason and selecting Roman Wilson in the third round of the draft this year, Mims has almost no chance of making the roster.
The final nail in the coffin is his lack of special teams ability, as Mims has recorded just 3 special teams snaps in his career. Add depth at another position, the Steelers could cut Denzel Mims heading into the summer and not think twice about it.
DL DeMarvin Leal
Though I questioned his fit with the team from the gate, I had high hopes for DeMarvin Leal when he was selected by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the third round of the 2022 NFL Draft -- Kevin Colbert's last as general manager. Unfortunately, Leal was stuck in between positions in a bad way.
Leal is too slow to play on the edge (where he primarily lined up at Texas A&M), and he's not strong enough at the point of attack to carve out a big role on the defensive line. This makes him an awkward fit in Pittsburgh's defense.
After adding veteran defensive lineman Dean Lowry in free agency and a similar-type player in Iowa's Logan Lee in the NFL Draft, Leal could be the odd man out. If the Steelers know this, they could use his roster spot on another position rather than have him take up valuable reps on the defensive line during training camp.
CB Luq Barcoo
The Steelers may not have a terrific option next to Joey Porter Jr. as the opposite boundary cornerback, but there is suddenly a lot of depth at the position. Donte Jackson was acquired in the Dionate Johnson trade and is expected to be the starter at right cornerback. However, the Steelers also have several big, athletic cornerbacks with good upside like Cory Trice Jr., Darius Rush, and rookie Ryan Watts.
These three cornerbacks all stand at 6'2'' or above with outstanding length and athletic traits. They will be fighting for roster spots and rotational roles in sub-packages in 2024.
This makes a player like Luq Barcoo an afterthought. Much like Denzel Mims at receiver, Barcoo doesn't play special teams (0 special teams snaps in his NFL career). Barcoo also hasn't played a meaningful snap of football since his time in Jacksonville in 2020. The Steelers could cut Barcoo and look to upgrade another position on the roster.