Training camp provides a perfect place for competition. The Pittsburgh Steelers have openings on their roster, and it will be up to their players to position the depth chart. Their failure to have a successful preseason could result in unemployment or searching for a vacancy on another team. This summer will test them before the coaching staff makes final decisions.
Mark Robinson is entering his fourth training camp with the Steelers, and it's time for him to take a step forward.
He hasn't shown the type of progress the franchise was hoping for when they took a flyer on him during the seventh round of the 2022 NFL Draft. He was a raw linebacker coming out of college who transitioned from running back, but that excuse is running thin.
Pittsburgh normally holds onto five inside linebackers on its 53-man roster, but there are no guarantees that will happen. If they keep five players at the position, Robinson must win the final spot. Otherwise, his days with the Steelers will be marked with "what could've been". He has shown flashes of promising play throughout his young career, but that might not be enough this preseason.
Pittsburgh Steelers could cut LB Mark Robinson from roster if he doesn't succeed at training camp
Robinson must overcome some incoming battles during training camp.
Carson Bruener is the fresh face in town who was the seventh-round pick of the Steelers in the 2025 NFL Draft. Bruener's father played for the franchise for a long time, which could put the rookie in favorable positioning over Robinson on the depth chart. Both of them must beat out the other for a shot at a roster opening.
READ MORE: This Steelers veteran is entering training camp with his job on the line
The linebackers currently in front of Robinson and Bruener are Patrick Queen, Payton Wilson, Malik Harrison, and Cole Holcomb. All four have varying degrees of starting experience. Both Harrison and Holcomb will battle for the pivotal third linebacker role on defense, but it appears all four of them will make the roster out of training camp.
If all four of those linebackers stick on the depth chart at their current positions, that means Robinson has one vacancy to hopefully command.
He will have to beat out Bruener and any other possible competition that emerges from the shadows. Luckily for the bottom of the barrel depth pieces, the only other player they need to concern themselves with is Devin Harper.
Harper has little experience in the NFL and shouldn't pose a threat to Bruener or Robinson. It is time for the veteran linebacker to finally take a step forward in his production. Robinson has a clear path to make the Steelers' roster, and his failure could sink his NFL career. Keep a close eye on the competition at middle linebacker because it could see familiar faces getting cut.