Pittsburgh Steelers general manager Kevin Colbert has the unenviable task of reducing the roster to 53 players by 4 p.m. Saturday, what he understands can be a “devastating moment.”

“It’s hard because a lot of times you may be ending a kid’s dream and his career,” Colbert said Thursday night on KDKA-TV before the Steelers’ preseason finale at Carolina. “Some might be brought back to the practice squad and some might move on to other teams but, unfortunately, it might be the last football experience for some of these guys.”

That hasn’t stopped us from projecting the Steelers’ 53-man roster before the final cuts. My predictions:

QB (3) – Ben Roethlisberger, Mason Rudolph, Josh Dobbs: Rudolph was superior to Dobbs statistically, especially scoring touchdowns, to move into the backup role. Devlin Hodges was as impressive a fourth-stringer as the Steelers have had but there’s no room.

RB (4) – James Conner, Jaylen Samuels, Benny Snell, Roosevelt Nix: Can’t imagine the Steelers cutting a fourth-round pick, even though Trey Edmunds was better in training camp and has special-teams experience. With James Conner entering the third year of his rookie contract, the Steelers will keep Snell with an eye toward depth for the future.

WR (6) – JuJu Smith-Schuster, Donte Moncrief, James Washington, Ryan Switzer, Diontae Johnson, Johnny Holton: Parting ways with Eli Rogers would be difficult, given that he had 48 catches for 594 yards and three touchdowns in 2016. But Switzer has the edge on returns. Holton’s big plays in the preseason finale pushed him past CFL alum Diontae Spencer, and Holton’s ability to play gunner makes Edmunds expendable.

TE (3) – Vance McDonald, Xavier Grimble, Zach Gentry: This is a position that could be different by the end of the weekend. Not sure Grimble is a sufficient No. 2 or that fifth-rounder Gentry was better than Pine-Richland alum Kevin Rader, who will probably find a spot on the practice squad.

OL (9) – Alejandro Villanueva, Ramon Foster, Maurkice Pouncey, David DeCastro, Matt Feiler, B.J. Finney, Chuks Okorafor, Zach Banner, Fred Johnson: Only possible thing is they could keep eight. The Steelers like Banner and might not want to risk releasing Johnson. The odd man out is Jerald Hawkins, as well as seventh-rounder Derwin Gray.

DL (6) – Cameron Heyward, Javon Hargrave, Stephon Tuitt, Tyson Alualu, Daniel McCullers, Isaiah Buggs: I could make the case that undrafted free agent Henry Mondeaux was better than Buggs, but suspect the Steelers will keep their sixth-rounder and try to sign Mondeaux to the practice squad.

ILB (4) – Vince Williams, Mark Barron, Devin Bush, Ulysees Gilbert: Gilbert’s preseason play was impressive and his blocked field goal helped his cause on special teams. Tyler Matakevich is the toughest call but could be out due to Gilbert’s play and the numbers game at outside linebacker.

OLB (5) – T.J. Watt, Bud Dupree, Anthony Chickillo, Ola Adeniyi, Tuzar Skipper: This is where Adeniyi’s knee surgery makes it complicated. The Steelers could place him on injured reserve but would lose him for eight weeks. Skipper makes the team over sixth-rounder Sutton Smith, thanks to five sacks in four preseason games and his special-teams play at Carolina.

CB (6) – Joe Haden, Steve Nelson, Artie Burns, Cam Sutton, Mike Hilton, Justin Layne: The difficult decision already was made when the Steelers waived the injured Brian Allen. Layne left the Carolina game with an injury, so the Steelers could keep someone like Matakevich at another position if Layne ends up on the IR.

S (4) – Sean Davis, Terrell Edmunds, Kameron Kelly, Jordan Dangerfield: This requires the Steelers to release Marcus Allen, a 2018 fifth-round pick, but Kelly passed him on the depth chart. I can’t see the Steelers parting ways with a valued veteran like Dangerfield because of his special-teams roles.

Specialists (3) – Chris Boswell, Jordan Berry, Kam Canaday: Matthew Wright showed a strong leg but missed both a field goal and an extra-point kick at Carolina. Berry beat Ian Berryman because of his directional punting. Canaday was never challenged, even though Christian Kuntz handled duties at Carolina and McDonald and tight end Trevor Wood did in camp.

Practice squad (11): S Marcus Allen, OL Derwin Gray, WR Trey Griffey, RB Trey Edmunds, OLB Christian Kuntz, DL Henry Mondeaux, OL Patrick Morris, TE Kevin Rader, TE Christian Scotland-Williamson*, OLB Sutton Smith, WR Diontae Spencer.

* — exempt under International Pathways program.

Hey, Steelers Nation, get the latest news about the Pittsburgh Steelers here.

Copyright ©2025— Trib Total Media, LLC (TribLIVE.com)