The Pittsburgh Steelers do not have a ton of roster-spot drama remaining in advance of their preseason finale on Saturday against the Detroit Lions, with the vast majority of the 53-man roster spots locked up.
But there are still some jobs to be earned, especially in the secondary and on special teams. Here are six players on the Steelers’ roster bubble, and what they need to do (or have happen to someone else) to secure a roster spot this weekend.
WR DEZ FITZPATRICK
Dez Fitzpatrick has been consistently about sixth in Steelers’ wide receiver depth chart, even with Roman Wilson injured. Wilson is going to make the team; seven wide receivers are not. But Fitzpatrick has an ace in the hole in that he’s been one of the players that has been competing to be the starting gunner on punt returns. Miles Boykin held that role before he left for the New York Giants in free agency, and Fitzpatrick is trying to replace him in that role. After a bit of an adventure in the first preseason game, head coach Mike Tomlin said he saw progress from that unit in the second preseason game.
“I thought we took a step between game one and game two.” Tomlin said. “It’ll be interesting to see what the next one looks like. We’ve got a lot of viable guys battling for position, and I just respect that component of it. Really excited about this opportunity from that respect. I know we’re getting some quality punting from Cam [Johnston], and so it’s a blessing and a curse. We’ve got to get down there and cover them.”
Fitzpatrick is battling two other players on this list for that role. The two that win one will have a roster spot.
RB JONATHAN WARD
Jonathan Ward had been the best of the Steelers’ reserve running backs before he went down with a hamstring injury on the final week of training camp.
“Definitely not ideal,” Ward said of the timing.
It got worse when the team’s co-starter at the position, Jaylen Warren, was injured in the second preseason game, putting his status for the season opener in jeopardy. If the Steelers want a fourth running back for that game, Ward might be their best option. But he’ll have to prove he’s healthy first, and there isn’t much time.
FB JACK COLLETTO
The Steelers have used a fullback way more often than they have in the past this summer, under new offensive coordinator Arthur Smith. Smith was the NFL leader in fullback usage last season with the Atlanta Falcons. So does that mean Jack Colletto, the lone Steelers player with FB next to his name on the roster, is making the team? Not necessarily. Connor Heyward and MyCole Pruitt can both play fullback, and Smith himself said that Colletto will have to have a major special teams role in order for him to be available to be used by the offense. That hasn’t necessarily happened so far.
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TE RODNEY WILLIAMS II
After playing well enough last summer that the Steelers moved on from veteran tight end Zach Gentry, Williams is going to have to pull off the same feat again this year if he’s to make the 53-man roster. The Steelers signed Pruitt, pushing Williams down the pecking order, and Pruitt also has positional versatility that Williams does not, along with some special teams ability that was the calling card for “Hot Rod” last season.
Can Williams do it again? An AC sprain early in camp seems to have robbed him of some of the juice he had last year. Williams is an NFL-caliber player, and if there’s a Steelers player that could be lost on the waiver wire on cut-down day, Williams is among the most likely.
LB MARK ROBINSON
Things didn’t look great for Mark Robinson when the Steelers signed Tyler Matakevich right before training camp. It appeared that move, combined with the free agent signing of Patrick Queen and drafting Payton Wilson in the third round, pushed Robinson back to a distant sixth on the Steelers’ linebacker depth chart.
But Cole Holcomb has yet to return to the practice field from his 2023 knee surgery, and Robinson played some of the best football we’ve seen him play in a Steelers uniform this preseason. If he keeps it up, he’ll be impossible to cut.
DB THOMAS GRAHAM
Thomas Graham started about fourth on the Steelers depth chart at slot cornerback way back in OTAs, and was even playing on the outside some. Since then, Cam Sutton has been suspended for eight weeks, Grayland Arnold is out for the season with an injury and Beanie Bishop was banged up, missing the second preseason game. Bishop is expected to play on Saturday against the Detroit Lions, and it’s a good thing, because his preseason debut was far from flawless.
If it’s another so-so outing for Bishop in Detroit, the Steelers may feel that they need to keep another defensive back that can play in the slot, and Graham is clearly the best option.
SS RYAN WATTS
Ryan Watts was an NFL cornerback for about three weeks. If keeps playing safety as well as he has been, that may be an amusing trivia question someday. The Texas alum has taken to his new position swimmingly, exceeding expectations for his play this early on in the transition. Watts tackles well and always seems to be making plays around the ball. Watts will need to nail down a special teams role to feel really safe on cut-down day, but his play seems to suggest he should.
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