Some said they planned to rest, another said he'd be praying. And you'd better believe all will be excited by the time the clock strikes 4 p.m. on Saturday.
If nothing else, Matt Wile, Bucky Hodges, Quadree Henderson, Tevin Jones and Matthew Thomas can all rest assured in knowing that they at least gave themselves a chance to make the Steelers' 53-man roster when the roster is pared from 90 to 53 late Saturday afternoon.
All five turned in strong performances in the Steelers' preseason finale, a convincing 39-24 win over the Panthers on Thursday night at Heinz Field.
Here's a look at how each improved their stock:
MATT WILE, punter
In the Steelers locker room, Wile was exchanging handshakes and phone numbers with Jordan Berry, even offering the Aussie a place to stay if he were ever in his hometown of San Diego.
If body language is to be believed, Wile may have just won the job, something that would have been unthinkable entering training camp just a few weeks ago. Once again in this preseason, the journeyman out of the University of Michigan clearly outperformed the incumbent.
"I think I've done everything I can," the 26-year-old told DKPittsburghSports.com. "We'll see what happens."
Berry, who had one punt for 36 yards in the first half, has struggled this preseason, averaging 43.5 yards per punt. Meanwhile, Wile has averaged 48.4. On Thursday, he had three field-flipping punts with a net average of 50 yards.
Wile was tasked on Thursday by special teams coordinator Danny Smith to work on his directional kicks. Here, in the third quarter, he angled a 50-yarder outside the numbers with good hang time that Panthers return man Kenjon Barner couldn't do much with:
Directional kicks are one area where Wile holds a distinct advantage over Berry, who excels more at kicks that drop and pin opponents within the 20.
"It's something I've definitely worked on," Wile said of kicking into the corners. "It wasn't always something I was great at, but I've worked at it to be pretty proficient at it."
Any competition between specialists is always different since there are only a handful at any given NFL training camp and they are almost always segregated from their teammates. But Wile says that through it all, he and Berry remained friendly.
"It was great, we both pushed each other and I think we both understand it's a business," said Wile, who is on his fifth organization after appearing in four games two seasons ago with Atlanta and Arizona. "There's no animosity. I came in and just wanted to compete and put my best leg forward. I think he did the same thing. That's not always the case when you go into new organizations. Sometimes you go in there and you get the cold shoulder."
Whether Wile wins the job remains to be seen. Berry has been the Steelers' punter the previous three seasons, easily a record under Mike Tomlin, who has previously shown little patience for the position.
However, this razor-thin competition might come down to Berry's advantage as a holder. He's the only one with whom Chris Boswell has ever worked and the Steelers just invested five years and $20 million into a kicker who's converted 89.5 percent of his field goals.
But Wile says he and Boswell are on the same page as far as the kicking operation goes.
"'Boz' seems to be comfortable and it's great because we have Kam (Canaday)," Wile was saying. "He snaps the ball, it's really easy to catch and hold. When you've got a clean, same snap every time, it's really easy to just put the ball down to let the kicker get comfortable with it."
BUCKY HODGES, tight end
Josh Dobbs certainly had himself a night. The second-year QB earned himself a roster spot somewhere, if not in Pittsburgh.
But Dobbs, who completed 4-of-6 passes for 66 yards on the opening series, capped by his brilliant, diving three-yard TD run, did have a little help. His fourth completion of the drive went for a 36-yard gain on a catch by Hodges:
Hodges' only regret is that he got knocked out of bounds at the Carolina 3-yard line.
"Wish I would have scored, I tried to," Hodges was telling me. "But Dobbs threw a great ball. O-line protected well all night. On that play, I just tried to make a play. Tried to execute what the coach called."
Hodges, who later added a seven-yard reception, says he wanted to finish strong and show that he was a dependable two-way tight end.
"This was the last little go-around to try to impress the coaches and the GM and everybody," Hodges said. "I tried to put on a strong performance from the pass game, run game, blocking, special teams. Tried to put it all together to be the best all-around player that would give me the best opportunity moving forward."
The Steelers are currently without Vance McDonald and Xavier Grimble due to injury and Hodges figures to make the 53-man, at least to start the season. But Hodges says he's leaving nothing to chance.
"Praying everything goes well but I'm ready, I'm ready," he said. "I like it here."
QUADREE HENDERSON, wide receiver
When Henderson opted to enter the NFL Draft in the spring it raised more than a few eyebrows. When the former Pitt standout was subsequently passed over by 31 teams seven times, it even drew some snickers locally.
Well, Henderson got the last laugh on Thursday and even had the ball stuffed in his locker stall to prove it. You better believe the diminutive 5-foot-8 receiver was keeping this one, a sensational one-handed grab that went for a 7-yard TD pass from Mason Rudolph with 3:01 to play in the third quarter:
With Rudolph going one way and Henderson the other, the QB threw against his body. So, Henderson did what he had to do to make the play.
"I wasn't going to be able to catch it like this," he explained, holding two hands up over his head. "My arms are too short, I'm too small. I just reached up with my right hand and it just fell right in my glove and I squeezed it, squeezed the living daylights out of it and came down with it."
Hey, didn't that kind of look like an Odell Beckham Jr. grab?
"That's who I felt like for a second," Henderson said with a laugh, still squeezing the daylights out of his souvenir. "But it was definitely a good catch, a memorable catch."
But can one catch of his three this preseason be enough to earn a roster spot?
Henderson's path to the 53 is based largely on what he can do as a return man. Though the Steelers brought in Ryan Switzer on Monday, Henderson still had Thursday's longest kick return (29 yards).
"I just felt I went out there and made the best of my opportunity and put that film on tape, put that out there," he said. "I think I have a good shot to make the 53."
TEVIN JONES, wide receiver
No, Jones didn't get to keep his TD ball. Either one of them.
"But hopefully I can find one and they'll let me take one home," he says.
Week 4 figured to feature many players who hadn't seen much action this preseason and that was certainly the case for Jones, an undrafted free agent who spent camp last year with Kansas City. He made the most of his chance on Thursday, pulling in three catches for 90 yards and a pair of TDs, including this one from Rudolph late in the first half:
Rudolph made a great throw between three defenders but Jones did a nice job of hanging onto the ball after taking contact at the goal line.
Despite his impressive performance, Jones isn't going to land a roster spot and he'd probably be hard-pressed to make the practice squad. He doesn't know what his future holds, but he says he plans on enjoying his Saturday afternoon with his teammates.
"It was fun, I'm just glad I got a chance to be a Steeler and put my best foot forward out there today," he says. "I'm just putting it in God's hands and taking it from there."
MATTHEW THOMAS, linebacker
To be sure, Thomas didn't need to have a big game. He's been outstanding in camp and in the preseason.
He was again on Thursday, providing yet another glimpse as to why the Steelers are so high on the talented, undrafted free agent out of Florida State.
Thomas had perhaps the play of the game, if not the preseason, early in the fourth quarter when he made amends for an earlier roughing the passer call with this strip-sack of Panthers QB Kyle Allen. The outside backer was credited with the sack, forced fumble and fumble recovery:
And Thomas, who returned the ball 75 yards, would have scored the touchdown if not for the speed and hustle of Carolina running back Reggie Bonnafon. Naturally, he heard about this from his teammates.
“(They were) talking about, ‘You supposed to be fast, but you got caught,’” Thomas said. “I was kind of winded. But that’s not an excuse. I still should have scored. But he caught me at the 1. That’s kind of laughable, I guess.”
Oh, and he also had a game-high 11 tackles, giving him a team-best 25 this preseason.
Thomas has been a star of the preseason and likely would have been drafted had he not missed six games last year after being declared academically ineligible down in Tallahassee. He's not just on a mission, he's grateful.
“I always felt comfortable (making the roster),” Thomas said. “I had a lot of issues in the past so I know that is probably a reason I didn’t get drafted. But I know I had enough in the tank to get drafted. I am just happy for the opportunity the Steelers gave me. They gave me a chance to come and prove myself, so hopefully I did that.”
MATT SUNDAY GALLERY
Steelers vs. Panthers, Heinz Field, Aug. 30, 2018. - MATT SUNDAY / DKPS