On the Bubble: The last in and first off the Steelers 53-man roster after Preseason Week 2
As the Pittsburgh Steelers moved through the 2025 preseason, all the work and all the evaluation is towards having the best season possible as well as filling out the strongest 53-man roster they can field. With the Steelers having 91 players in camp, there are some that are safe and have no question as to their place on the team while others are very much a long-shot.
So where is the cut off at this time? Which players are just finding their way onto the roster and which ones are just missing out from staying on the 53?
In the same line as the NCAA basketball tournament where they talk about teams that are “on the bubble,“ it’s time to look at the Steelers players who I have on the bubble both on offense and defense.
To break things down, I have to first reference which players I have on the 53-man roster which I projected, along with Jeff Hartman, earlier this week and can be seen HERE. Based on those players who I had making it, I also came up with a list of those who are the closest to being on the team that I did not have. I simply did a “last four in, and first four out.“
It was too difficult to do it across the entire roster, so I split it up for offense and defense. Starting off with the offense, it should be noted that the names that are listed are not at any particular order.
Offense
Last 4 In:
Skylar Thompson
Scotty Miller
Andrus Peat
Dylan Cook
First 4 Out:
Max Hurleman
Robert Woods
Will Howard
Lew Nichols
This time I included the quarterbacks because I made a change on my 53-man roster. No, I do not think the Steelers will cut Will Howard. I think the Steelers will put him on IR. If they put him on one of the two spots that are designated to return, then Skylar Thompson comes straight onto the roster. If not, they cut Thompson, wait until they can put Howard on IR, and then bring Thompson back. But it’s really touch and go as to what the Steelers could do there, hence why they are included this time. But cutting ties with Will Howard is not something I see them doing just yet.
Another switch I made was to move Robert Woods from the “In” category to the “Out” category, and in place I kept an extra offensive lineman and have them both in. But I don’t think they are by any means safe. Max Scharping would be the next one who I think could be a possibility, but I still don’t have him ahead of my other four who I have that are out.
I know Max Hurleman didn’t have the best game in Week 2, so it just made it more difficult to put him on the 53. But it doesn’t keep him from being on a bubble as a guy that can do multiple things. Also, Lew Nichols has to be someone the Steelers are considering at this time the way he has run the football.
Now let’s check out the defense and no particular order…
Defense
Last 4 In:
Mark Robinson
Beanie Bishop
James Pierre
Logan Lee
First 4 Out:
D’Shawn Jamison
Isaiahh Loudermilk
Carson Bruener
Eku Leota
There aren’t a lot of changes here from a week ago. The biggest change is who the players are who are “Out” at the same positions. I still prefer Lee over Loudermilk but don’t know what the Steelers will do. I still have both Beanie Bishop and James Pierre in at cornerback, and, due to his unavailability, I don’t even have Cory Trice close to making the roster. Instead, D’Shawn Jamison has got his name in the mix after playing well. Additionally, Eku Leota has become an intriguing player at outside linebacker. I don’t know if he would be ahead of DeMarvin Leal for sure, but I only had room for one of them and I thought I’d switch it up since it was Leal the last time.
So what do you think? Which players are on the bubble for you when it comes to the Steelers 53-man roster? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
This was a fun article. I enjoyed the read. As a keyboard warrior, its hard for me to make judgements like this, without having a real clue what’s going on in the building, at camp, and practices.
With that said, I’m kind of surprised they have not already released Robert Woods to give him a shot to latch on somewhere else. Him playing in total garbage time last weekend was telling to me. I do not have him in my top Last 4 Out. I’d possibly swap him with Ke’Shawn Williams (although I’m probably unrealistically high on him.)
I agree on Bishop and Pierre which goes to show that the secondary depth really falls off quick after the big 3. I noticed Eku Leota a lot last weekend as well. That probably doesn’t propel him onto the roster, but I’m pulling for him.
Cut downs are going to be very interesting.
I have to keep players like Woods and Loudermilk in the top 4 because the Steelers are more likely to keep them than I am.
I appreciate that you go more “scratch” with these prognostications. It gets very click-bait-ey when people add the really obscure folks, or go with players not even on the team. This is why SCN will not be behind some other steel curtain blogs 😉
I find it interesting that no one is talking about Brandon Johnson, even though he has ran with primarily what passes for the “ones” in the preseason games.
I really like Hurleman. Although the drop on the TD pass definitely hurt him, his pursuit on Woodside’s interception was the kind of effort I want to see. After Woodside’s tackle jarred the ball loose, Hurleman got the ball away from the DB’s body. Had Gareth Warren not speared himself into the ground jumping over the pile and knocking the ball out of bounds(concussing himself in the process, apparently) Hurleman might have been able to recover the ball. Bad luck all around for Max Hurleman in that game. It would be good to see him in the game with Rudolph and the rest of the ones. If that doesn’t happen, his chances of playing his way onto the roster in the last preseason game diminish substantially unless he just completely balls out against Carolina’s 2’s, 3’s, and 4’s.