The Pittsburgh Steelers open the 2022 NFL regular season at the Cincinnati Bengals on Sept. 11 at Paycor Stadium.
Though the Steelers have many key positions filled and decided, there are still glaring holes on the offensive line and outside linebacking corps. The line struggled in the second preseason game, and the team lacks a quality depth player behind T.J. Watt and Alex Highsmith at OLB. Quarterback Mason Rudolph, who's largely been surpassed by rookie Kenny Pickett on the depth chart, could be a trade candidate -- either used as part of a package to fortify some of those weaknesses or to add future draft capital.
The roster will be cut to 53 players by 4 p.m. ET on Tuesday. Here is a projection:
QUARTERBACK (3): Mitch Trubisky, Kenny Pickett, Mason Rudolph
Pickett proved he can be a solid backup -- and perhaps even a starter -- this season with progressive improvement in training camp and electric outings in preseason games. Because of this, Rudolph is expendable. It's not that Rudolph didn't play well; it's that Pickett showed more potential and a higher upside. But unless the Steelers pick up another young quarterback, Rudolph will stay on the roster after the team released seventh-round draft pick Chris Oladokun.
RUNNING BACK (5): Najee Harris, Jaylen Warren, Benny Snell Jr., Anthony McFarland Jr., Derek Watt
Warren proved his staying power with consistent solid performances in camp and preseason games when Snell missed time with a knee injury. Because of that, Warren played his way into Harris' primary backup role. The biggest question with this group is whether the Steelers will keep Watt. As a fullback, Watt played only 7% of offensive snaps a year ago, but as a special teamer, he played 68% of snaps. Though he missed most of camp with a shoulder injury, Watt still likely lands a roster spot.
WIDE RECEIVER (6): Diontae Johnson, Chase Claypool, George Pickens, Calvin Austin III, Gunner Olszewski, Miles Boykin
The battle for the sixth wide receiver spot was fierce throughout camp but lost some juice when Anthony Miller suffered a season-ending shoulder injury in practice. That opened the door for the Steelers to keep Boykin. He's a long receiver and made progress holding on to the football throughout camp -- plus he's an asset on special teams.
TIGHT END (3): Pat Freiermuth, Zach Gentry, Connor Heyward
The younger Heyward is making a name for himself early as a versatile playmaker. He's more than just Cam Heyward's little brother; he's also a favorite target of Pickett and someone offensive coordinator Matt Canada can deploy all over the field.
OFFENSIVE LINE (9): Dan Moore Jr., Chuks Okorafor, Mason Cole, James Daniels, Kevin Dotson, Kendrick Green, J.C. Hassenauer, Joe Haeg, John Leglue
This group didn't inspire much confidence after the second preseason game, but the reality is there aren't many quality replacements on the free agent market -- especially at tackle. Unless the Steelers get lucky on cut days or put together a trade package to bring in someone else, this is the group they're going to roll with. Whether to include Leglue was the most difficult question in this group, but he plugged in at guard last season when injuries plagued the line and did fairly well. That performance, plus training camp injuries to Green and Dotson, gives him the nod.
DEFENSIVE LINE (7): Cam Heyward, Larry Ogunjobi, Tyson Alualu, Chris Wormley, Montravius Adams, Isaiahh Loudermilk, DeMarvin Leal
This group should be stronger than last season as long as Alualu stays healthy, but the difference between the first string -- including Heyward, Ogunjobi and Alualu -- and the rest of the defensive line is stark. Adams was banged up during camp, but if he can get healthy, he's a good depth player. Leal has also come on strong late in camp.
LINEBACKER (8): T.J. Watt, Alex Highsmith, Derrek Tuszka, Myles Jack, Devin Bush, Robert Spillane, Mark Robinson, Marcus Allen
Realistically, the Steelers need to add a depth player to the outside linebacker group. With Highsmith dealing with a ribs injury since Aug. 8, the Steelers need quality depth to help Watt. In something of a surprise, the Steelers released Genard Avery, who was in contention to be the No. 3 OLB. That makes it a toss-up between Delontae Scott and Tuszka making the roster -- for now. At inside linebacker, Robinson made noise with a massive tackle of a Jaguars receiver in the second preseason game and was rewarded with first-team snaps in practice with Bush banged up. And even though he has missed most of camp with a lower-body injury, Allen gets a roster spot because he's a quality special teams player and a favorite of special teams coach Danny Smith.
CORNERBACK (4): Levi Wallace, Cam Sutton, Ahkello Witherspoon, Arthur Maulet
This group has been pretty set since camp started. The only difficult call was what to do with 2019 third-round pick Justin Layne, who has been most valuable on special teams. Ultimately, though, that spot went to Boykin at receiver.
SAFETY (5): Minkah Fitzpatrick, Terrell Edmunds, Miles Killebrew, Damontae Kazee, Tre Norwood
Kazee proved to be a valuable free agency pickup when Fitzpatrick missed the early part of camp with a wrist injury suffered on vacation. His addition gives the Steelers valuable veteran depth, although it might reduce the role of Norwood.
SPECIALIST (3): K Chris Boswell, P Pressley Harvin III, LS Christian Kuntz
No surprises here. The Steelers brought in another kicker and punter during camp, but neither was seen as a real challenger to Boswell or Harvin.