Real football is almost here. The preseason has come to an end, and we’re just 11 days from the Steelers kicking off their season at home against the Atlanta Falcons. Before the season could begin, each team had to make cuts to comply with the 53-man roster limit. Read & React made our roster predictions last week, and while we got quite a bit right, as always, there were a few moves we didn’t see coming. Let’s dive into how the first active roster of the season shaped out.
RB: It was expected to
be a fairly straightforward roster cutdown day this season, but there were a few curveballs that kept things interesting. Ryan, what did you find the most surprising?
RP: I think the trades were the most surprising part of the process. The Kaleb Johnson one wasn’t too shocking, I suppose. We both predicted he wouldn’t make the roster, after all. In Pittsburgh, Johnson didn’t flash the glimpses of potential that got him drafted in the third round, and the new offense no longer tailored to his presumed skillset. While his time here was disappointing, it does make sense that a team would be willing to throw the Steelers a late Day 3 pick to take a chance on a running back with Johnson’s draft pedigree.
The real surprise was the Broderick Jones trade. I didn’t think any team would be interested in a tackle that has largely disappointed and is coming off a neck injury. Broderick’s showing in the preseason was also a pretty tough watch. The Steelers trade with Dallas can essentially be broken down as upgrading a fourth-round pick into a third-round pick, and then swapping Jones for a sixth-round pick. It’s safe to call him a failed first pick, for general manager Omar Khan, but I do like that the Steelers are turning the situation into future assets rather than letting Jones ride out a lame-duck final year of his contract.
One development I think we could say wasn’t so surprising was the Steelers deciding to keep four quarterbacks on the roster. I suspect you and I share similar apprehensions about this decision, Ryland, but we can’t truly call this a surprise after the team spent most of the preseason soft launching this concept. As of now, they do appear prepared to carry on with this plan, as they did not claim anyone off waivers, nor have they signed any free agents onto the active roster.
What are your thoughts on the viability of this plan?
RB: I think there are some valid reasons for and against the Steelers keeping four quarterbacks on their initial 53-man roster – I’ll emphasize the “initial” here – but it still stands out as an unorthodox roster-building move.
Ultimately, I still think there’s a solid chance this is a piece of roster calculus before the regular season like what happened last year. Maybe the team wants to sneak Howard onto the practice squad after the initial wave of waiver claims. There has also been reported trade interest in Mason Rudolph that the Steelers didn’t act on before cutdowns because of the compensation. Could they be waiting for a better deal?
That said, Mike McCarthy made it no secret how much he likes the Steelers’ four quarterbacks this offseason, so it’s difficult to rule out this roster choice being a year-long decision.
However, by the time mid-season roster churn hits we won’t be as up in arms about the choice to leave a fifth-string linebacker or fourth-string safety off the 53-man roster, especially with practice squad elevations, but it’s hard to deny this is a rather strange roster strategy considering the quarterback room Pittsburgh has.
RP: I’m not so sure we won’t be if injuries start to take a toll, or if we have some special teams gaffes, but we’ll touch more on that in a bit.
Oddly enough, the Steelers aren’t the only team bucking NFL norms and carrying four quarterbacks to start the season. Who else is doing this, and do they have any compelling reasons for why?
RB: I’ve seen the stat that three other teams also kept four passers initially as a way of proving Pittsburgh’s decision wasn’t that out of the ordinary (hardly a majority of NFL teams, especially considering 12 only kept two quarterbacks initially), but it’s worth pointing out those three other teams had much better reasoning than the Steelers.
To recap: The Falcons (Tua Tagovailoa, Michael Penix Jr., Cooper Rush, Jack Strand) have two injury-prone starters and lots of quarterback questions this year. The Eagles (Jalen Hurts, Andy Dalton, Tanner McKee, Cole Payton) have a Taysom Hill-lite in their rookie QB4 who contributed on special teams in the preseason, plus they’ve got a fairly long-standing track record of trading quarterbacks. And the Vikings (Kyler Murray, Carson Wentz, J.J. McCarthy, Max Brosmer) seem to just be waiting for the right trade package for McCarthy.
The Steelers, on the other hand, have a proven starter in Aaron Rodgers, and Mason Rudolph, Will Howard and Drew Allar are not going to be seeing snaps on gameday unless Rodgers gets hurt or it’s garbage time.
RP: I think that last point is one of my major hang-ups with this as a roster construction strategy.
The biggest, naturally from our outside perspective, is that keeping four quarterbacks feels like the Steelers failing to commit to a plan. The team’s messaging presents a team that says it wants to be competitive this year for their older defensive core and their starting quarterback on his farewell tour. And yet many of the moves they have made over the past several months feel like a team trying to also hold space for its younger players. This quarterback decision – or, one might argue, a failure to make a hard decision – feels like the Steelers once again refusing to lean into either strategy fully. Instead, the Steelers are trying to straddle two lanes at once: competing and developing for the future. But rather than getting the best of both worlds, I worry they’re shortchanging themselves on both fronts.
This feels even more potent at the quarterback position. There just aren’t a ton of reps the backups get during the season. One of the three passers behind Rodgers will be in charge of running scout team quarterback. This can be a useful opportunity to develop a young passer, but that is limited if the team is splitting those reps each week between the three backups, or changing who runs the scout team based on the opponent for a given week.
It also makes me question: Does having four passers in the room help with developing a young passer’s mental side of the game because it adds more perspective, or does it dilute it due to forming a reliance on having an extra person to divvy up the week’s preparation responsibilities to? I’m not pretending to know the answer to that, but I am curious about it.
RB: Speaking of the emphasis on holding space for younger players, all 10 of the Steelers’ draft picks this year made the initial 53, as well as a surprise 11th in undrafted defensive lineman Kevin Jobity Jr.
While the Steelers had plenty of roster spots for that rookie class to fill this offseason, it’s genuinely impressive that all made the team. Only one member of the draft class, Eli Heidenreich, wasn’t seen as a near-lock for the roster ahead of cutdown, and even the seventh-round running back certainly made a clear case for the spot he earned in the team’s final preseason game.
Heidenreich clearly has more burst as a runner than the consensus RB3 candidate at the time, Travis Homer, and showed off some good, decisive running and even a little bit of power against the Bills. More importantly, he logged a special teams kickoff tackle, saw reps as the personal protector on the punt team, and looks like a capable return man to back up fellow rookie Kaden Wetjen.
This guy with the “Swiss Navy Knife” nickname can really do a bit of everything, huh?
Jobity was also a nice surprise as the lone 2026 UDFA to make the roster, especially considering the Steelers were only expected to keep six defensive linemen, and that the rookie was competing with more experienced names such as Esezi Otomewo and Dean Lowry over the summer.
Jobity’s 8.87 RAS was the centerpiece of most analysis of his play leading up to the preseason, and that athleticism showed on the field. It’s easy to see why Pittsburgh decided to keep a high-upside lottery ticket from hitting waivers.
And from a roster-building perspective, Jobity could offer some rotational value this season as he continues to develop. Pittsburgh’s D-line is heavy on run-stuffers with names such as Yahya Black, Derrick Harmon, Sebastian Joseph-Day, and sixth-round rookie Gabriel Rubio. Jobity, on the other hand, is an energetic pass rusher with a few solid moves in his repertoire already. It was against bottom-of-the-depth-chart offensive linemen in the Buffalo game, but the rookie’s superior movement skills were obvious on tape.
I’ve been somewhat optimistic regarding Pittsburgh’s defensive line all summer, and Jobity’s roster-making preseason is another good sign for the depth chart.
But the 53-man roster isn’t exactly that deep at every other position. What rooms look a little thin heading into Week 1, Ryan?
RP: We mentioned the Jones trade up top. Pairing that move with the four quarterback decision, for example, means the Steelers have just three true offensive tackles. Rookie Gennings Dunker was a right tackle in college, but I don’t much like the idea of the Steelers being two injuries away from potentially forcing him into that role. There are genuine concerns about whether he moves well enough to play that position in the pros, and it’s one of the main reasons he was heavily projected to become a guard. Forcing him back into that role could also stunt any progress he’s made transitioning to the interior.
Likewise, the team could view players such as Spencer Anderson and Brock Hoffman as viable enough in a worst-case scenario, but that is a fraught path as well. Anderson has played a grand total of 13 snaps of NFL tackle, and Hoffman has only ever played tackle in field goal attempt formation. If injuries occur during a game, these players could step in temporarily, but the team would almost assuredly scour the free agent market before the next game.
Another group I’d highlight as desperately thin is the safety group. We already knew this position was a concern this summer, but the surprise IR stint for DeShon Elliott makes it even more dire. The Steelers are saying Jaquan Brisker will be ready to go Week 1, but he’s hardly participated this summer with his own undisclosed injury, plus he’s got a history of concussions. Counting on his long-term health is already a tenuous proposition. Rayshawn Jenkins and rookie Robert Spears-Jennings are the other two options, and Jalen Ramsey is likely a player they can move in a pinch, though he is best suited at nickel at this stage in his career.
With both groups, the Steelers have an option on the practice squad – Steven Jones at tackle and Sebastian Castro at safety – but I would wager the team would explore the trade market and free agency thoroughly if injuries strike.
RB: Those two positions also stand out to me, and although he had a rough preseason, I’d add that Jack Driscoll starting the year on injured reserve marks another top backup at tackle who will be unavailable.
One other position that might be a bit thinner than many care to admit is wide receiver. The room is undeniably leaps and bounds improved from what it was last year, but without DK Metcalf and Michael Pittman Jr. in the preseason, the backups didn’t exactly inspire a lot of confidence.
Germie Bernard looks fine for an up-and-coming rookie but has yet to establish himself as a true WR3. Roman Wilson still looks far from a sure thing entering Year 3. And Ben Skowronek and Kaden Wetjen’s roster spots have more to do with special teams than offense, although both can contribute to the latter in limited roles.
If Metcalf of Pittman misses time in-season, I’m still not sure if this is a receiver room that can rise to the challenge. And especially in the scenario where Metcalf gets injured, I’m not sure where this passing game can generate explosive plays.
It’s a reasonable top six to keep on the initial roster. But don’t rule out a wide receiver signing or trade midseason.
RP: That’s true, Ryland. The linebacker room is also one that concerns me more than it did this time last week. While we knew that starters Patrick Queen and Payton Wilson have struggled with consistency, the Steelers are betting heavily on them and hoping that Cole Holcomb and second-year player Carson Bruener will provide all the depth they need. The bringing in and then cutting of Elandon Roberts is a strange move.
Ryland, you wrote aboutMcCarthy’s comments on why the team cut Roberts, and I have got to say I found it to be another puzzling example of a disconnect between the type of team the Steelers are saying they are this season, and their actions suggesting the opposite.
I won’t pretend Roberts doesn’t possess his own flaws as a player, but he is the type of veteran presence that I would think a “competing” team would want – especially at a position they’re considered weak at – and it’s hard to argue that he wasn’t the most consistent run defender in the room. McCarthy seemed to blame Roberts’ lack of special teams play as the reason, but I have a tough time squaring that with carrying three passers who don’t play special teams either, and who you’re hoping don’t take the field at all.
But I digress. I think we’ve made our point. Let’s close out with one final topic discussion. Any players signed to the practice squad you want to highlight?
RB: Running back Lew Nichols played well once again in the 2026 preseason and will be an easy elevation to make if one of Jaylen Warren or Rico Dowdle misses time.
Undrafted rookie Devan Boykin was another impressive performer this summer, making some highlight plays in coverage and especially coming downhill as a run defender. He’s a similar player to 2025 UDFA Sebastian Castro, fitting best in the “star” position on defense but with middling testing numbers. Still, he’s a good player who shouldn’t be left out of the safety depth conversation, or special teams.
I’m also glad that the two Brandons – Smith and Johnson – made the practice squad at wide receiver. Neither are flashy names, but Smith had a strong summer and preseason when healthy, while Johnson has 23 career regular-season games to his name and remains a rock-solid WR5/6 option as an elevation. Solid insurance moves.
RP: The two names I want to highlight are tight end Lake McRee and edge Bradyn Swinson. As is the case with every practice squad member, the odds are stacked against these players breaking out and becoming stars for an NFL team. That said, sometimes players do ascend from humble beginnings, so that’s why it’s nice to see the team invest in players where you can see the potential in them.
McRee was a prospect I liked as a possible developmental tight end. More pass catcher than blocker, though he did show a willingness to block, even if he has work to do there. McRee flashed some of that receiving potential at times this preseason, totaling five receptions for 60 yards and a score. He did most of his yardage damage in the Jets game, but secured the touchdown in the final game against the Bills. McRee also had a drop this summer and a couple of instances where he and the quarterback didn’t appear to be on the same page on the route he was running. While I don’t think he was ready to make the roster, I like that the team is able to stash him for a year and see where he’s at a year from now.
The Steelers also went outside of the building following cutdowns to add Swinson. A former Oregon Duck and LSU Tiger, Swinson is a twitchy edge with long arms who oozes physical upside, but has questions about whether he can put it all together. He played just 27 snaps as a rookie last year, but generated over 60 pressures during his final year of college. That’s a player I’m happy to see the team taking a low-risk chance on. I don’t expect him to turn into James Harrison any time soon, but Harrison was a long-time practice squad member before breaking out, so never say never.
Let us know what you think in the comments. Be sure to bookmark Behind the Steel Curtain for all the latest news, breakdowns, and more!
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