Projecting The Steelers' 53-man Roster As Training Camp Ends And After Preseason Week 1

The Steelers broke training camp at Saint Vincent College in Latrobe this week and have one preseason win against the Green Bay Packers in the books. 

Roster cut down day is still a couple of weeks away, and two preseason games remain against the New York Jets (Aug. 21) and Buffalo Bills (Aug. 27.) Much can happen to change the equation between now and then – including unforeseen injuries. 

For now, though, here’s USA TODAY's look at where we think the roster stands with the heaviest practice schedules of the year now in the books. 

Required reading: Steelers running out of time for new deal with top CB Joey Porter Jr.

Quarterbacks (3) - Aaron Rodgers, Will Howard, Drew Allar

Mason Rudolph is the steady veteran backup for Rodgers, and that may be enough to land a roster spot if the Steelers decide to play it safe. In that case, Howard is likely the odd man out as a low draft pick selected by the former coaching regime. With the way both young QBs played against the Packers, though, the risk of carrying both behind Rodgers just increasingly feels like it could be worth the potential reward of a camp battle between them in 2027. 

Running backs (3) - Jaylen Warren, Rico Dowdle, Travis Homer 

Dowdle and Warren will get the overwhelming share of the touches when healthy, which makes a fourth body at this spot feel unnecessary for now. Lew Nichols got more touches than the starter Homer in the opener, which may signal interest in keeping him around. Beyond that, 2025 third-round pick Kaleb Johnson appears to have completely fallen out of favor. He barely saw the field against the Packers. And native son Eli Heidenreich will have to earn his way into the conversation with special teams contributions. 

Receivers (6) - DK Metcalf, Michael Pittman Jr., Germie Bernard, Roman Wilson, Kaden Wetjen, Ben Skwronek

Metcalf and Pittman are locked in as a tall duo of starters on the outside, assuming they both pull through injuries that have held them out of training camp. Bernard and Wilson will likely fight it out for slot duties all season, though Wilson could be in some jeopardy if he becomes invisible like he did for wide swaths of 2025. Skowronek is a special teams ace who should be relatively safe for that reason. Wetjen was perceived exclusively as kick returner upon being selected as the team’s fourth-round choice, but his two catches for 79 yards and a touchdown against the Packers may be changing how he’s viewed. 

Tight ends (4) - Pat Freiermuth, Darnell Washington, Riley Nowakowski, Robot Tonyan

Freiermuth is the top pass-catching option while Washington is the team’s best blocker at this spot. Nowakowski appears poised for the H-back/fullback role vacated by Connor Heyward. And Tonyan is a versatile veteran who proved useful in the first exhibition with four catches for 61 yards. 

Offensive line (9): Max Iheanachor, Broderick Jones, Troy Fautanu, Dylan Cook (T), Zach Frazier, Brock Hoffman (C), Gennings Dunker, Mason McCormick, Spencer Anderson (G)

Despite a lackluster preseason debut, Fautanu is the team’s most proven commodity on the outside and a former first-round pick. It would take a lot to push him out of his starting spot on the left. The other three could all realistically start on the right side, depending upon how the rest of the preseason unfolds. The team is most invested in Iheanachor and most confident in Cook, the listed starter, at the moment. Jones would have to blow them away. Frazier and McCormick are locked in at their interior spots, leaving Hoffman, Anderson and Dunker to fight it out for the remaining guard spot. Dunker, a 2026 third-round pick, will be the fan favorite with that flowing red mane, but Anderson won’t be easy to push out.

Defensive line (6) - Cam Heyward, Derrick Harmon, Keeanu Benton, Yahya Black, Dean Lowry, Sebastian Joseph-Day

Heyward and now Benton are the big-money guys after the latter got a lucrative extension last week. Harmon is coming off a strong rookie season in which he quickly established himself as a run stuffer. And Black showed flashes that have given the staff confidence in him to start at the nose. Lowry and Joseph-Day are known commodities as depth. We’ll give them the edge for now over Logan Lee, who can’t seem to stay healthy, and Gabe Rubio, the off-the-radar sixth-round pick who’s nevertheless impressed early on. He had four tackles against the Packers and could push for a roster spot if the staff likes his upside compared to Lowry and Joseph-Day. 

Outside linebackers (4) - T.J. Watt, Alex Highsmith, Nick Herbig, Jack Sawyer

Watt, Highsmith and Herbig are the unshakable trio locked into lucrative long-term deals. Sawyer is being groomed to take over for one of them if there’s a move in the next year with Watt or Highsmith to re-allocate payroll to other positions. Jamin Davis had two sacks in against the Packers to put himself on the radar if there are injury or trade developments before Week 1.

Inside linebacker (5) - Patrick Queen, Payton Wilson, Cole Holcomb, Elandon Roberts, Carson Bruener

Queen and Wilson are your starters, but the former has no deal for 2027 and was the source of a lot of trade rumor smoke in the offseason. We’d speculate about the potential he could be dealt if there was an obvious potential successor, but there isn’t at the moment. Holcomb and Roberts are excellent run stuffers but can be liabilities against the pass. And Bruener is more of a special teams ace than potential starter as a former seventh-round pick. Malik Harrison was a contributor last year and is under contract for 2026, but the signing of Roberts would seem to signal some doubt there.

Cornerback (6) - Joey Porter Jr., Jamel Dean, Asante Samuel Jr., Jalen Ramsey, Daylen Everette, Bradin Echols

Porter and Dean will start on the outside and could be the most dynamic duo the Steelers have had there in some time. Ramsey will be a proverbial chess piece who could get a lot of safety reps for DC Patrick Graham, but also has utility in the slot. Beyond them, Samuel has been a buzzy camp commodity following his return to the NFL from spinal fusion surgery last year. Everette is a 2026 third-round pick the team would like to develop. And Echols has been a fairly reliable backstop. 

Safety (4) - DeShon Elliott, Jaquan Brisker, Rayshawn Jenkins, Robert Spears-Jennings

Elliott and Brisker will start and Ramsey will probably mix in a fair amount. For that reason, this may be a spot the front office is willing to cut from to keep an extra running back, lineman or even a QB. Especially because we’ve seen the Steelers churn through depth safeties at a pretty high rate under Khan. They’ll probably want to give Spears-Jennings a shot because of his speed, though. The 2026 seventh-round pick ran a 4.32 40-yard dash at the NFL combine. 

Specialists (3) - Chris Boswell (K), Cameron Johnston (P) and Christian Kuntz (LS)

Boswell is back under a big contract. Johnston still puts up good numbers. And Kuntz? His podcast might make him the most well-known guy at his position in the league. 

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Projecting the Steelers' 53-man roster as training camp ends and after preseason Week 1