In less than a month, the Pittsburgh Steelers will report for training camp in Latrobe, Pennsylvania. These open summer practices will give us a good idea of what specific aspects will be different under new head coach Mike McCarthy.
With a bevy of draft picks this past April, Pittsburgh will have to make some tough cuts down to 53 players at the conclusion of the preseason. Here are three players who have something to prove, and may be fighting for a spot on the final roster this August.
QB Will Howard
Will Howard
was given QB2 reps for the Steelers in OTAs and throughout their offseason program. It should be expected that this trend will continue into training camp. However, I wouldn’t necessarily pencil in Howard as the solidified backup quarterback just yet. In fact, I think we should be treating this training camp and preseason as more of a tryout period for Howard.
It’s important to keep in mind that Howard has played zero snaps in any preseason or regular season games in his career. Howard missed the majority of training camp last summer with a hand injury that prevented him from getting valuable reps. Now, Howard is very much a wild card in year two in a room with two established veterans in Aaron Rodgers and longtime backup Mason Rudolph. The new coaching regime also went out of its way to select Drew Allar in the third round to essentially have a redshirt year and develop as the third-string quarterback.
This leaves Howard in a very cut-and-dried situation. It’s to earn the backup spot or be cut. Steelers insiders seem to be echoing this sentiment in their early final roster projections. So much of the discourse online will almost certainly be about who looks better between Howard and Allar when, in reality, you should be comparing Rudolph and Howard.
Can the Steelers feel comfortable enough going into the season with Howard and Allar behind their soon-to-be 43 year-old quarterback despite having no regular season experience? That will be the question the coaching staff will be asking itself all summer. McCarthy raving about Howard after he was hired may have been a touch exaggerated, but make no mistake about it, the Steelers are giving the sixth round pick a shot this summer to make the team and catapult into an important backup role.
RB Kaleb Johnson
The 2025 third-round pick had a complete dud of a rookie year. Johnson only mustered 2.5 yards per carry on his 28 attempts, and made a major special teams blunder that all but kept him off the field in kickoff situations for most of the year. Johnson now has a brand new coaching staff that did not draft him in charge, and has arguably stiffer competition in the running back room as compared to last year.
The signing of Rico Dowdle killed any momentum towards getting serious carries for Johnson. Dowdle provides the Steelers with a true between the tackles back, something they could have used more of last year despite Warren being more than capable in that role.
It’s notable that both running backs who could challenge Johnson for a roster spot come cut day both have track records in special teams play. Homer was signed as a special teams ace, so it would make sense for him to make the team, but Heidenreich could be an interesting scenario.
What the Steelers want to list Heidenreich as on the final roster could be the difference between Johnson making the team or not. Heidenreich’s best shot to make the roster could very well be at receiver, clearing the way for Johnson to make the team.
Unfortunately, the former third-round pick seems to be fighting for a roster spot this summer. Even if Johnson makes the final roster, it is tough to see him earning any carries barring injury this season.
OL Spencer Anderson
Perhaps no single player on the Steelers’ roster got a bigger offseason bump than Spencer Anderson. Despite signing Brock Hoffman and drafting Gennings Dunker in the third round, it seems as though Anderson is going to head into Latrobe as the starting right guard with a legitimate shot at cementing that role.
The 2023 seventh-rounder has started 11 games over the last two years for Pittsburgh, and the team seems to be giving him a golden opportunity to become a full-time starter in 2026. He will have to battle with Hoffman, who was brought in for his versatility at both guard and center. Dunker figures to be a bit of a project guard as he played primarily tackle in his college career. While Dunker was clearly drafted to be the guard of the future, that leaves Anderson alone as the player with the most experience at the position and the familiarity within the organization.
I don’t believe Anderson will be fighting for a roster spot as much as the others, but he is someone who could play themselves into a legitimate starting role with a solid camp and preseason.
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