CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- What had been a very fruitful preseason for the Steelers – at least for the most part – ended with a thud Friday night at Bank of America Stadium with a 34-9 loss to the Panthers.
Perhaps most disappointing from the team’s loss Friday night was the fact that so few players who were being given an opportunity to show they belonged on the 53-man roster did much to prove that.
It was the exact opposite of what the Steelers had shown in their first three preseason games when their backups had outplayed those from the Cowboys, Eagles and Lions.
But the show goes on and by 4 p.m. Tuesday, the Steelers will have to make 27 roster cuts to get down to the NFL limit of 53 players.
Here’s my final projection of what the roster will look like Tuesday evening:
Quarterbacks (3): Ben Roethlisberger, Mason Rudolph, Dwayne Haskins – The “Dwayne Train” skidded off the tracks in Charlotte, as Haskins continually checked the ball down – something he had done throughout this preseason process. He’ll only throw the ball down the field if it’s wide open – as in college wide open.
Those kind of windows don’t happen often in the NFL. Haskins has an NFL arm, but whether his timidness to let the ball rip and allow his wide receivers to make a play is based on what he was coached to do at Ohio State, Washington or if he just doesn’t trust himself or the receivers with which he is playing remains to be seen.
He’ll get a chance to get that coached out of him as the No. 3 quarterback this season. Maybe a year of watching Ben Roethlisberger throw guys open will do him good.
Running backs (5): Najee Harris, Kalen Ballage, Anthony McFarland, Benny Snell, Derek Watt (FB) -- It’s a 17-game schedule and the Steelers want to run the football. So, I’m keeping an extra back (Snell) around to help with that and on special teams.
I’m not sure I understand some fans who want to cut Watt. This team plans to use the fullback, and he’s also one of their best special teams players. Releasing him makes absolutely no sense.
Wide receivers (5): Diontae Johnson, Chase Claypool, JuJu Smith-Schuster, James Washington, Ray-Ray McCloud – I don’t love McCloud. I don’t think he does much offensively. But someone has to return punts, and I don’t want Johnson doing it, especially since he got injured doing so in 2020.
McFarland also can do some of the things McCloud does as a jet sweep guy and gives them some options there. The rest of this receiver group was set in stone when camp started.
Tight ends (3): Eric Ebron, Pat Freiermuth, Zach Gentry – I think Kevin Rader is an NFL tight end. But he doesn’t make it here over the bigger, stronger Gentry.
That doesn’t mean he won’t see time on the active roster this season.
Ebron and Freiermuth could be a pretty dynamic duo catching the football. The blocking? Well, that’s why the people cutting Watt are being short-sighted. He’s going to help out in that regard while Freiermuth learns that skill.
Offensive line (9): Chuks Okorafor, Kevin Dotson, Kendrick Green, Trai Turner, Zach Banner, B.J. Finney, Dan Moore, J.C. Hassenauer, Joe Haeg – It wouldn’t surprise me to see the Steelers just churn the bottom of the roster here (Haeg) and sign someone else who gets cut – or at least add someone else who gets cut to their practice squad.
But there are about 20 teams in the NFL who are short on offensive linemen, so there won’t be anyone good getting cut loose at this point. Other teams like their quarterbacks to stay upright as well.
I think we saw Friday night the difference Harris makes to the line. He’s a difference maker at the position. Snell will get what’s blocked and little more. So, if it’s nothing, he’s getting nothing.
This line will be a work in progress all season, but the Steelers can win with it once they start scheming things up.
Defensive line (7): Cam Heyward, Tyson Alualu, Stephon Tuitt, Chris Wormley, Isaiah Buggs, Henry Mondeaux, Isaiahh Loudermilk – Carlos Davis is the odd man out and heads to the practice squad.
Buggs has shown he can play the nose and they’ll have to keep an additional defensive lineman around while Tuitt gets up to speed. That’s Wormley.
Danny Smith might stand on the table and stump for Mondeaux, who somehow, some way seems to be one of the first two or three guys down the field on punt and kick coverage every play despite being 290-plus pounds.
Outside linebacker (4): T.J. Watt, Alex Highsmith, Melvin Ingram, Jamir Jones – Some tough cuts here. Cassius Marsh was disruptive Friday night, but Jones did what he did over the course of the preseason, continually hitting the quarterback. And then he had three special teams tackles, as well.
Rookie Quincy Roche heads to the practice squad. He should clear waivers. Remember, 32 NFL teams continually passed on him in the draft until he went in the sixth round.
Inside linebacker (5): Devin Bush, Joe Schobert, Robert Spillane, Marcus Allen, Buddy Johnson – It wouldn’t have surprised me if the Steelers had gone with Allen over Spillane, who had a tough preseason in coverage, and kept someone else. But both Spillane and Allen are core special teams players.
Spillane won’t be asked to play a lot of coverage if he steps into the lineup at any point. They would leave that to Bush or Schobert. And Allen also suffered a hamstring injury Friday night. Maybe he goes on short-term IR since teams can bring as many guys back from that as they wish. They only have to be out for three games. That could get a roster spot for Roche, but he would have to clear waivers first.
Bush and Schobert will be on the field – a lot.
Cornerback (5): Joe Haden, Cam Sutton, James Pierre, Justin Layne, Arthur Maulet/veteran pickup – This is a spot where the Steelers should be scanning the waiver wire closely.
Sutton will be the nickel corner with Pierre on the outside. But it would be nice to be able to make that move because it’s a luxury, not a necessity. And right now, it’s kind of murky who the other dime corner would be, especially with Maulet nursing an ankle injury.
And you might be able to find someone better than Maulet on the waiver wire. Or at least a player with the skillset they're looking for to handle the spot.
I don’t think Layne was as bad in this preseason as some fans seem to think. In fact, he’s come on over the past month, just not as well as Pierre.
Safety (4): Minkah Fitzpatrick, Terrell Edmunds, Miles Killebrew, Tre Norwood – Maybe Fitzpatrick is their dime slot – at least at times.
He’s kind of the queen on the chess board since he can do so much well. But taking him out of centerfield would be tough.
Norwood got a chance to bump down to the slot Friday night and it wasn’t pretty. Then again, after just a couple of practices there, I’m not sure it could have looked great, no matter how many mental reps he’s taken at the position. He is still a rookie.
Specialists (3): Chris Boswell, Pressley Harvin, Kameron Canaday – Perhaps they can deal Jordan Berry for a draft pick.
Christian Kuntz could beat out Canaday here, but I don’t know that the Steelers will want to mess with both the long-snapper and the holder for Boswell.