Cutdown day is a hard day in the NFL. By the time all is said and done, 1,184 players will be cut as all 32 teams reduce their rosters from 90 players to 53 by Tuesday's 4 p.m. deadline.
Skylar Thompson, initially thought to be an automatic cut at the outset of training camp, is in a great headspace heading into a very stressful couple of days:
"It's just an odd time. Just a lot of thoughts going through your head, all those types of thing," Thompson told me following Sunday's practice at the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex. "To be honest, man, I've been very free in these past couple days. I feel like I've put my best foot forward. I don't have any regrets of this preseason. Obviously, there's things to get better at and to improve on. But I was very proud by the way I stepped out there and played this preseason. That gives me some confidence moving forward that no matter where it's at or what it is, I'm gonna be okay. Truly just feel like I'm playing some good football right now and feel confident as a player. Whatever shakes out, that's out of my control. That's out of my hands. Whatever that will be, I'll attack it head full on and give it my best."
Thompson initially signed with the Steelers in January on a futures contract. In fact, he remained the only quarterback under contract until Mason Rudolph signed with the team in free agency. But once the team drafted Will Howard and signed Aaron Rodgers in June, Thompson immediately became the afterthought of the group. That carried over into training camp as Howard quickly worked his way up the depth chart, where Thompson clearly became QB4.
However, just before the slate of preseason games began, Howard suffered a broken bone in his throwing hand during practice, which derailed any chance of him getting very valuable game reps during the preseason. Thompson stepped in and turned a lot of heads doing so.
Actually, it's safe to say Thompson completely balled out during the preseason, completing 73.2% of his passes for 498 yards, four touchdowns and one interception, averaging 8.9 yards per attempt. In the finale at Carolina, the first-team offense with Rudolph at the helm struggled to do anything with the ball. The first drive stalled out, the second drive was a three-and-out and Rudolph threw an ugly interception on the third and final drive. Thompson came in on the fourth series and immediately helped the team march 80 yards down the field on eight plays, resulting in a 25-yard pitch and catch to Lance McCutcheon.
The strong play has carried over into practice on the South Side. Sunday's practice wrapped up with Thompson throwing an absolute dot to Max Hurleman 20-plus yards downfield on a seam route, placed perfectly over defenders tight in coverage.
As far as making a pitch for keeping a job, Thompson's done just about all he can to convince everyone he's a guy worthy of a roster spot. The Steelers won't roster four quarterbacks, so they'll have to either cut one and try to sign them to the practice squad or place Howard on injured reserve. And they cannot simply cut Thompson and immediately place him on the practice squad. Because he has less than four years of NFL service time, Thompson would be placed on waivers if he's cut ahead of Tuesday's deadline.
Now, the Steelers are considering Howard for IR with a designation to return. He's starting to work out, but has yet to take any reps with the team in practice. So, it's far from a guarantee that Howard will be ready to serve as a legitimate emergency third quarterback in Week 1 or even in the first couple of games. Thus, the team could use one of their two allotted spots on IR with a designation to return that's done before cutdown day. Once the 53-man rosters are finalized, the Steelers have six more slots for IR with a designation to return.
In theory, the Steelers could place Howard on IR with a designation to return, making Week 6 against the Browns at Acrisure Stadium the first game he's eligible. During that time, Thompson could serve as the team's unquestioned QB3, a role he feels he's earned with his play and the current circumstance at quarterback:
"I do feel like I've solidified myself and shown that they can trust me," Thompson said. "But yeah, that's the unfortunate part of the business. Injuries happening present an opportunity. Will's my guy. We have a great relationship and I care for him a lot. I know this hasn't been an easy time for him, either. He's been a great teammate to me. He's been very supportive and very encouraging. When I have success and threw touchdowns, he was one of the first guys to come congratulate me. It speaks volumes about our quarterback room, just our whole environment and how it's helped shape me to be my best. I think we all bring the best out of each other and have a good time doing it. Having Aaron in the room, being able to learn from him, he's been tremendous. All around, it's been a great experience. I feel confident with what I've done."
The decision-making process isn't easy. That's why Omar Khan, Mike Tomlin and others are well compensated. If Thompson somehow doesn't make the roster, he's certainly played well enough to grab attention from other NFL teams. Either way, it's been a very successful preseason for him. And, anytime the Steelers have a difficult decision to make because there are too many players worthy of a roster spot, that's always a good problem to have, too.
THE ASYLUM
Thompson confident, 'free' ahead of cutdown day
Cutdown day is a hard day in the NFL. By the time all is said and done, 1,184 players will be cut as all 32 teams reduce their rosters from 90 players to 53 by Tuesday's 4 p.m. deadline.
Skylar Thompson, initially thought to be an automatic cut at the outset of training camp, is in a great headspace heading into a very stressful couple of days:
"It's just an odd time. Just a lot of thoughts going through your head, all those types of thing," Thompson told me following Sunday's practice at the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex. "To be honest, man, I've been very free in these past couple days. I feel like I've put my best foot forward. I don't have any regrets of this preseason. Obviously, there's things to get better at and to improve on. But I was very proud by the way I stepped out there and played this preseason. That gives me some confidence moving forward that no matter where it's at or what it is, I'm gonna be okay. Truly just feel like I'm playing some good football right now and feel confident as a player. Whatever shakes out, that's out of my control. That's out of my hands. Whatever that will be, I'll attack it head full on and give it my best."
Thompson initially signed with the Steelers in January on a futures contract. In fact, he remained the only quarterback under contract until Mason Rudolph signed with the team in free agency. But once the team drafted Will Howard and signed Aaron Rodgers in June, Thompson immediately became the afterthought of the group. That carried over into training camp as Howard quickly worked his way up the depth chart, where Thompson clearly became QB4.
However, just before the slate of preseason games began, Howard suffered a broken bone in his throwing hand during practice, which derailed any chance of him getting very valuable game reps during the preseason. Thompson stepped in and turned a lot of heads doing so.
Actually, it's safe to say Thompson completely balled out during the preseason, completing 73.2% of his passes for 498 yards, four touchdowns and one interception, averaging 8.9 yards per attempt. In the finale at Carolina, the first-team offense with Rudolph at the helm struggled to do anything with the ball. The first drive stalled out, the second drive was a three-and-out and Rudolph threw an ugly interception on the third and final drive. Thompson came in on the fourth series and immediately helped the team march 80 yards down the field on eight plays, resulting in a 25-yard pitch and catch to Lance McCutcheon.
The strong play has carried over into practice on the South Side. Sunday's practice wrapped up with Thompson throwing an absolute dot to Max Hurleman 20-plus yards downfield on a seam route, placed perfectly over defenders tight in coverage.
As far as making a pitch for keeping a job, Thompson's done just about all he can to convince everyone he's a guy worthy of a roster spot. The Steelers won't roster four quarterbacks, so they'll have to either cut one and try to sign them to the practice squad or place Howard on injured reserve. And they cannot simply cut Thompson and immediately place him on the practice squad. Because he has less than four years of NFL service time, Thompson would be placed on waivers if he's cut ahead of Tuesday's deadline.
Now, the Steelers are considering Howard for IR with a designation to return. He's starting to work out, but has yet to take any reps with the team in practice. So, it's far from a guarantee that Howard will be ready to serve as a legitimate emergency third quarterback in Week 1 or even in the first couple of games. Thus, the team could use one of their two allotted spots on IR with a designation to return that's done before cutdown day. Once the 53-man rosters are finalized, the Steelers have six more slots for IR with a designation to return.
In theory, the Steelers could place Howard on IR with a designation to return, making Week 6 against the Browns at Acrisure Stadium the first game he's eligible. During that time, Thompson could serve as the team's unquestioned QB3, a role he feels he's earned with his play and the current circumstance at quarterback:
"I do feel like I've solidified myself and shown that they can trust me," Thompson said. "But yeah, that's the unfortunate part of the business. Injuries happening present an opportunity. Will's my guy. We have a great relationship and I care for him a lot. I know this hasn't been an easy time for him, either. He's been a great teammate to me. He's been very supportive and very encouraging. When I have success and threw touchdowns, he was one of the first guys to come congratulate me. It speaks volumes about our quarterback room, just our whole environment and how it's helped shape me to be my best. I think we all bring the best out of each other and have a good time doing it. Having Aaron in the room, being able to learn from him, he's been tremendous. All around, it's been a great experience. I feel confident with what I've done."
The decision-making process isn't easy. That's why Omar Khan, Mike Tomlin and others are well compensated. If Thompson somehow doesn't make the roster, he's certainly played well enough to grab attention from other NFL teams. Either way, it's been a very successful preseason for him. And, anytime the Steelers have a difficult decision to make because there are too many players worthy of a roster spot, that's always a good problem to have, too.
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