For the Pittsburgh Steelers, the final cuts usually offer few surprises.

They could have picked the roster before training camp. You could have picked the roster before training camp.

But this year, the Steelers made some wise moves at their depth chart’s fringes.

The No. 3 quarterback rarely comes into play. But last season, he did.

Recycling Josh Dobbs after he got cut by Jacksonville makes sense.

Dobbs is familiar with the system after spending 2017 and ’18 with the Steelers. He unlikely ever will be an NFL starter, but he is better than Duck Hodges, one of pro football’s worst quarterbacks ever. If Dobbs was the No. 3 QB last year, the Steelers make the playoffs. Dobbs also can challenge Mason Rudolph for the backup job.

Sean Davis isn’t a starter, either, and proved that during his previous four seasons in Pittsburgh. He went to Washington via free agency this past offseason but got released.

But, like Dobbs, Davis returns to a method he has practiced and executed. He is a capable backup, and perhaps he can push Terrell Edmunds at the safety opposite Minkah Fitzpatrick. Edmunds has been nothing but vanilla at that spot. (Perhaps that’s all that’s required.)

The Steelers cut receiver Ryan Switzer. That’s a bit shocking given his friendship with Ben Roethlisberger. But, after two straight non-playoff seasons, that sort of thing should be eliminated. It puts a crimp in Switzer’s plans to be the next Julian Edelman, though.

Ray-Ray McCloud made the Steelers instead. The receiver from Clemson is 5-foot-9, so he is vertically challenged like Switzer. He has been cut by Buffalo (twice) and Carolina.

McCloud might make little impact with the Steelers and might not last long. But the Steelers know the upside of Switzer and Deon Cain, and it’s not much. McCloud had a good camp, so keeping him over a couple of marginal players is an educated risk. Better the devil you don’t know.

Replacing punter Jordan Berry with Dustin Colquitt (ex-Kansas City) seems a lateral move. In fact, Berry had a superior average and net average last season. But Colquitt is more consistent and gets better hang time.

These moves are unlikely to make a difference. But if long shots come in, and these decisions add up to an extra victory, the Steelers might finagle a playoff spot as a result. If Dobbs plays instead of Hodges last year, that happens.

The biggest Steelers headline from the long weekend was the contract extension given to defensive end Cameron Heyward.

Heyward’s deal is worth $75.1 million over five years. (That includes the 2020 season, which Heyward was already signed for.) That’s quite a payday.

If that’s the cost to keep Heyward, what will it take to keep T.J. Watt, whose contract expires after the 2021 season?

But retaining Heyward was essential. He was first-team All-Pro last season and is irreplaceable as a locker-room leader.

With NFL revenues dropping because of the pandemic, the salary cap for 2021 could sink as low as $175 million. Sans pandemic, it had been expected to rise to $210 million. The difference between expectation and reality will cause the Steelers to make some tough decisions, especially with Ben Roethlisberger’s cap hit going to $41 million in ’21.

Heyward’s extension likely dictates the departures of receiver JuJu-Smith Schuster, outside linebacker Bud Dupree and running back James Conner, whose contracts expire at year’s end.

Heyward is 31. Is his prime nearly over? (On an encouraging note, Joe Greene made first-team All-Pro when he was 33.)

Roethlisberger is 38 and coming off major reconstructive elbow surgery. He looks great now, but for how much longer?

This year and next may be the Steelers’ last best chance to win a Super Bowl. It’s a long shot, but the odds would be even longer in 2021 without Heyward. Those who depart because of Heyward’s signing are mere disposable parts. Chase Claypool replaces Smith-Schuster. Alex Highsmith replaces Dupree. Running backs like Conner are a dime a dozen.

Heyward is a real Steeler. He is interested in winning. Not stats, not individual honors, not branding, not TikTok. He wears black and gold, not a onesie. He doesn’t dance. He hits.

What Heyward does is tough to replace.

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