Final Steelers 2023 53-Man Roster Projection

ATLANTA — The preseason is in the books, with the Pittsburgh Steelers sweeping aside the Atlanta Falcons with ease on Thursday night to finish 3-0 in the preliminary portion of the schedule before they start the regular season Sept. 10 against the San Francisco 49ers.

But before they get there, they’ll have to cut 37 players from their 90-man offseason, as the deadline to get down to 53 is at 4 p.m. on Tuesday. Here’s our final Steelers 53-man roster projection.

Quarterback (3): Kenny Pickett, Mitch Trubisky, Mason Rudolph
Cut: Tanner Morgan

Nothing that happened in the preseason made me think that either the roster makeup, or the order of the participants, is even in remote jeopardy. The only thing I could see happening here is a team calling about Mason Rudolph. If Josh Dobbs is still worth a draft pick, Rudolph might be. Tanner Morgan did not necessarily impress me enough to make Rudolph expendable, but he could fill a spot if needed.

Running back (3): Najee Harris, Jaylen Warren, Anthony McFarland
Practice squad: Greg Bell. Cuts: Darius Hagans, Xazavian Valladay

These three have been awesome all training camp, their order is unquestioned, and at least in my mind, so is McFarland’s spot on the roster. None of the depth options have particular impressed, and the running back spot on the practice squad could go to someone cut from elsewhere, but Greg Bell has been the best all-around player of the current options.

Wide receiver (5): Diontae Johnson, George Pickens, Allen Robinson II, Calvin Austin III, Gunner Olszewski
Practice squad: Miles Boykin, Dez Fitzpatrick, Aron Cruickshank. Cuts: Jordan Byrd, Dan Chisena.

With only five wide receivers, I prioritized play at wide receiver over special teams, and that made Gunner Olszewski a shoe-in over Miles Boykin. Boykin is such a good special teamer that he is a tough cut. No one else was in serious consideration to make the roster.

I would have had Cody White on the practice squad before his injury, and I replaced him with newbie Aron Cruickshank. I don’t know why, I just think he has some juice. Definitely has speed. He’s stood out in a good way.

Tight end (4): Pat Freiermuth, Zach Gentry, Connor Heyward, Darnell Washington
Practice squad: Rodney Williams II

I suppose there is a chance that Zach Gentry could be a surprise cut or that some team might ask about him in a trade, but I think the Steelers have four really good tight ends and want to use them all. That’s why they can roll with five wide receivers.

Tackle (4): Dan Moore Jr., Chukwuma Okorafor, Broderick Jones, Spencer Andeson
Cut: Le’Raven Clark. Practice squad: Dylan Cook

The first three are in ink, and while this is a roster projection, not a job projection, Dan Moore, Jr. will be the starting left tackle. The top trio probably doesn’t need a lot of help, and while Dylan Cook has been the better of the backup tackles, I’m picking Spencer Anderson because of his ability to be a versatile backup.

If Cook made the team, he’d be a game-day scratch anyway, and as long as he clears waivers, he could be the No. 4 tackle just as effectively from the practice squad. I think the arrow is up on him as a player, but in the numbers game, I have him missing out.

Guard (4): Isaac Seumalo, James Daniels, Kevin Dotson, Nate Herbig
Practice squad: Bill Dunkle

I still think they should try to trade Kevin Dotson, but his shoulder injury that caused him to miss Thursday’s preseason finale might throw a wrench in that. With James Daniels and Nate Herbig both also banged up, Anderson’s ability to play guard further helps his case over Cook. Bill Dunkle has been solid on the third team and could stick around for another year on the practice squad, especially with injuries.

Center (1): Mason Cole
Cut: Ryan McCollum. Practice squad: Kendrick Green

Kendrick Green played guard on Thursday and looked pretty darn good doing it. I don’t get the sense that the team is ready to give up on him as a player. But there’s no path to playing time for him at guard, where he’s undersized anyway, and he just has not taken to center the way the Steelers hoped. The practice squad is probably a better spot for him than the active roster as they try to figure out what to do next.

Defensive line (8): Cam Heyward, Larry Ogunjobi, Breiden Fehoko, Armon Watts, Keeanu Benton, Montravius Adams, Isaiahh Loudermilk, DeMarvin Leal
Practice squad: Manny Jones. Cuts: Jonathan Marshall, James Nyamwaya

I can’t cut one. All of these players have been so good for the Steelers this summer. Eight defensive linemen is too many, and DeMarvin Leal has not played enough standup linebacker to let me cheat and put him there. But these are all NFL players. I kept 26 on defense, shortchanging the offense, to make it work. But all of these lineman are better than the 10th offensive lineman or sixth wide receiver.

Outside linebacker (4): T.J. Watt, Alex Highsmith, Markus Golden, Nick Herbig, DeMarvin Leal (kinda)
Practice squad: David Perales, Quincy Roche. Cuts: Toby Ndukwe, Kuony Deng

The top four are set in stone. I don’t see anyone else working their way into the mix, though David Perales had a very strong preseason. I’m keeping Quincy Roche around primarily for special teams depth, though he did play well against the Falcons.

Inside linebacker (4): Cole Holcomb, Elandon Roberts, Kwon Alexander, Mark Robinson
Practice squad: Tanner Muse. Cuts: Forrest Rhyne, Nick Kwiatkoski

The four on the roster feel firmly entrenched, and Tanner Muse has probably been good enough to make the squad, but I can’t see a situation where he’s forced to play much, so I picked special teams options from positions where the depth chart is less locked-in.

Safety (4): Minkah Fitzpatrick, Damontae Kazee, Keanu Neal, Miles Killebrew
Practice squad: Tre Norwood, Trenton Thompson, Kenny Robinson. Cuts: Jalen Elliott

Miles Killebrew is still one of the Steelers’ top special teams options, and though he’d be dead last on the depth chart in terms of players to actually play safety, in a year where the Steelers lost longtime special teams stalwarts Marcus Allen, Robert Spillane and Derek Watt (and I have Miles Boykin getting cut), Killebrew gets the job.

Kenny Robinson is a gutting cut, as he did everything the team could have possibly asked for with a ton of injuries early in camp at safety. Tre Norwood was done in by a lingering calf injury that really prevented him from making an impact. Trenton Thompson showed me enough to warrant a longer look.

Cornerback (6): Patrick Peterson, Levi Wallace, Chandon Sullivan, Joey Porter Jr., James Pierre, Elijah Riley
Practice squad: Madre Harper. Cuts: Chris Wilcox, Lavert Hill, Nevelle Clark, Luq Barcoo

Elijah Riley just feels too versatile and too essential to what the team has planned on defense to leave off the 53-man roster, even though he came up from the practice squad in 2022. He essentially takes the role of No. 4 safety in addition to second slot corner and key special teamer.

The injury to Cory Trice means that James Pierre is the No. 4 outside cornerback, almost by default. In my mind, Pierre didn’t have a great camp, but there’s no one that’s come close to unseating him.

Specialist (3): Chris Boswell, Christian Kuntz, Pressley Harvin III

Cuts: Braden Mann, B.T. Potter, Rex Sunahara

Pressley Harvin III over Braden Mann was the only real choice here, and Harvin made it an easy one with a significantly more consistent camp and preseason.