About a month from now, the Steelers will convene at Saint Vincent College in Latrobe, Pa., for their first training camp there since 2019.
It will bring with it excitement for Steelers fans robbed of that experience the past two years because of the pandemic and a sense of urgency for the 90 players involved as the team decided who will and won't be on the 53-man roster at the end of training camp.
There will be some battles here in there in the starting lineup and for key backup positions. But let's take a look at what the roster could look like when the smoke clears:
Quarterbacks (3): Mitch Trubisky, Mason Rudolph, Kenny Pickett -- That's in no particular order, though it wouldn't surprise me if that winds up being how things shake out when it's all said and done. Remember, Ben Roethlisberger wasn't supposed to be No. 2, let alone No. 1, three weeks into the 2004 regular season. The Steelers have said the quarterback position is open and there is a competition there. Then, in their offseason program, they gave Mitch Trubisky all the work with the starters. Three preseason games are unlikely to change things dramatically. But the real battle here is for the No. 2 spot. And in reality, it doesn't matter who wins that. The team could go with Rudolph as the No. 2 quarterback on game day, but if Trubisky were to go down for an extended period of time, Pickett could be easily elevated ahead of Rudolph to be the starter.
Running back (4): Najee Harris, Benny Snell, Mateo Durant, Derek Watt (FB) -- A veteran free agent could easily be added here at any point, even up to the final cutdown at the end of the preseason. But Anthony McFarland has not proven capable of being able to stay healthy. He's guaranteed nothing on this roster. The Steelers do seem to like Durant a great deal, though they did give fellow undrafted rookie Jaylen Warren a $4,000 signing bonus. The people on the release Watt bandwagon are barking up the wrong tree. He's a core special teams player and isn't going anywhere.
Wide receiver (6): Diontae Johnson, Chase Claypool, George Pickens, Calvin Austin, Anthony Miller, Gunner Olszewski -- This position should be very interesting. It's one of the most competitive on the roster, with Miles Boykin, Steven Sims and Cody White also offering NFL experience at the position. Olszewski isn't just an excellent return man, he also is very good on special teams coverage units -- a rarity at the position -- which is why the Steelers gave him a two-year, $4.2-million deal. Miller is the most talented of the other group, though White shouldn't be discounted. He's a favorite of the coaching staff and consistently works at his craft. But Miller is an established slot receiver on a team with a bunch of players who -- other than Austin, a rookie -- don't have a lot of experience in the slot.
Tight end (3): Pat Freiermuth, Zach Gentry, Connor Heyward -- Freiermuth is one of the top young tight ends in the game, while Gentry has developed himself into a very solid blocking tight end as the No. 2. Heyward is a weapon who can block out of the backfield or sneak downfield to be a matchup issue. I've long liked Kevin Rader, but he hasn't done enough in his opportunities to warrant beating out Heyward.
Offensive line (9): Dan Moore, Kevin Dotson, Mason Cole, James Daniels, Chuks Okorafor, Kendrick Green, Joe Haeg, J.C. Hassenauer, Trent Scott -- You'd like to see another player here capable of playing offensive tackle. And perhaps John LeGlue works his way into the conversation as a guard-tackle combination. But right now, it looks like Haeg and Scott are in line to be the backup offensive tackles. They do have 59 career starts between them, which is actually more than Moore and Okorafor, but neither are in any danger of being beaten out. There's more depth here than there was a year ago.
Defensive line (6): Cameron Heyward, Tyson Alualu, Larry Ogunjobi, Isaiahh Loudermilk, Chris Wormley, DeMarvin Leal -- This group has a different look to it than it did last year. The Steelers broke camp without Stephon Tuitt and then Alualu got hurt five quarters into the season. Loudermilk and Wormley, the top two backups on this roster, combined to play more than 1,000 snaps last season. Montravius Adams goes to the practice squad. The Steelers could get something of value for Wormley in a trade, but after seeing what happened to their defensive line last year, I don't know that they'll be interested in dealing away depth at the position.
Outside linebacker (4): T.J. Watt, Alex Highsmith, Gennard Avery, Derrek Tuszka -- Avery can play inside or outside, so he kind of steals a spot. Tuszka flashed in his limited playing time last season. Undrafted rookie linebacker Tyree Johnson is someone worth keeping an eye on, as well.
Inside linebacker (5): Devin Bush, Myles Jack, Robert Spillane, Buddy Johnson, Marcus Allen -- Allen and Ulysees Gilbert were two of the top five players on the team in special teams snaps last season. One of the two probably makes this roster. I'll go with Allen -- for now. Johnson is expected to take a step forward in his second season. Sixth-round pick Mark Robinson probably needs some work after making the transition from college running back to linebacker. He can get that on the practice squad.
Cornerback (6): Cameron Sutton, Levi Wallace, Ahkello Witherspoon, Tre Norwood, James Pierre, Justin Layne -- Largely the same group as last year, with Wallace replacing Joe Haden. And that's not a downgrade -- at least not from what Haden was last year. Witherspoon also now has a year's experience in the defense. The Steelers aren't going to give up on Pierre, while Layne is a valuable gunner on the special teams units. Arthur Maulet doesn't make the cut with the addition of Damontae Kazee, who also plays in the slot.
Safety (4): Minkah Fitzpatrick, Terrell Edmunds, Damontae Kazee, Miles Killebrew -- The addition of Kazee makes this group deeper. The Steelers just didn't have a true backup at free safety the past few years. Now they do. And he has versatility being able to play strong or free safety, though he's a little slight to consistently line up at strong.
Specialists (3): Chris Boswell, Pressley Harvin, Christian Kuntz -- No changes here. The Steelers expect Harvin to be better and more consistent than he was as a rookie. Boswell is one of the best in the business and Kuntz was solid in his first season.