nfl

Biggest surprises from Pittsburgh Steelers' initial 53-man roster

08-27-2024
3 min read
USA Today

The deadline for the Pittsburgh Steelers to cut their roster down to 53 players has come and gone, but don't expect the initial group to remain intact for long.

Even after cutdown day, the Steelers have some positions they need to shore up, with cornerback and wide receiver coming to mind first. Thankfully, there will be a slew of options to consider, both on the waiver wire and in free agency.

The Steelers, along with the rest of the NFL, will have until noon ET Wednesday to place a claim on players who went to waivers after being cut. Players with less than four accrued seasons who were cut are subject to waivers.

But we'll cross that bridge when we get to it. For now, here's a look at the Steelers' 53-man roster and the biggest surprises from it.

Pittsburgh Steelers 53-man roster

QB: Russell Wilson, Justin Fields, Kyle Allen

RB: Najee Harris, Jaylen Warren, Cordarrelle Patterson

WR: Calvin Austin III, Van Jefferson, Scotty Miller, George Pickens, Roman Wilson

TE: Pat Freiermuth, MyCole Pruitt, Darnell Washington, Connor Heyward

OL: Zach Frazier, Ryan McCollum, Mason McCormick, Isaac Seumalo, Spencer Anderson, James Daniels, Dan Moore Jr., Troy Fautanu, Broderick Jones

DL: DeMarvin Leal, Keeanu Benton, Montravius Adams, Cam Heyward, Logan Lee, Isaiahh Loudermilk, Dean Lowry, Larry Ogunjobi

LB: Nick Herbig, Alex Highsmith, Tyler Matakevich, Patrick Queen, Elandon Roberts, Mark Robinson, T.J. Watt, Payton Wilson

CB: Beanie Bishop, Donte Jackson, Joey Porter Jr., Darius Rush, Cory Trice Jr.

Scroll to Continue with Content

S: DeShon Elliott, Jalen Elliott, Minkah Fitzpatrick, Damontae Kazee, Miles Killebrew

Specialists: Chris Boswell, Christian Kuntz, Cameron Johnston

Suspended: CB Cameron Sutton

Injured Reserve (designated to return): OL Dylan Cook, LB Jeremiah Moon

PUP list: LB Cole Holcomb

Pittsburgh Steelers 53-man roster surprises

Eight defensive linemen

That's a lot of defensive linemen. We figured two of Logan Lee, Isaiahh Loudermilk or Dean Lowry wouldn't make the cut, but all three did. If the Steelers bring in outside help, it's very possible one of the three gets the boot.

Thomas Graham cut

Graham was getting first-team reps as the slot cornerback, and while he wasn't overly impressive, we figured he'd at least get a roster spot. We were wrong.

Jalen Elliott makes the cut

We did not have Elliott on our radar as someone who would make the cut, especially after he was released back in July. He clearly showed enough on special teams for the Steelers to keep him.