With the Pittsburgh Steelers reporting to the Saint Vincent College in Latrobe on Wednesday for the start of their 2025 training camp, it’s time for me to finally throw out my initial 53-man roster prediction for the team.
As usual, I have included some analysis underneath each position group. I invite you to post your own differences in the comments below along with your own 53-man roster prediction.
My next stab at the Steelers’ 53-man roster will likely be posted right before the team’s first preseason game. After that, one will come after each and every preseason game.
Offense (24)
Quarterbacks (3) – Aaron Rodgers, Mason Rudolph, Will Howard
Analysis: Barring any injuries to Rodgers, Rudolph, or Howard this summer, these should be the three quarterbacks on the 53-man roster come Week 1. This means that Skylar Thompson should be the odd quarterback out. I really want to see Howard play around 100 snaps during the preseason.
Running Backs (3) – Jaylen Warren, Kaleb Johnson, Kenneth Gainwell
Analysis: Warren should begin the 2025 regular season as the starter with Johnson, a third-round draft pick this, and Gainwell, a versatile free agent addition, both poised to see some action in the backfield at the beginning of the season. The Steelers still have Cordarrelle Patterson on the roster, but barring an injury, I think he will wind up being one-and-done in Pittsburgh. Especially if the Steelers can settle on a different player to return kickoffs by Week 1.
Wide Receivers (5) – DK Metcalf, Calvin Austin III, Roman Wilson, Robert Woods, Ben Skowronek
Analysis: Once you get past my top three of Metcalf, Austin, and Wilson, there is certainly some discussion to be had. Does Woods have anything left as an offensive player at his age? Can another wide receiver or player from a different position group unseat Skowronek as a gunner and special teams player? Will the Steelers add another veteran wide receiver such as Gabe Davis? Might they consider carrying six wide receivers on their initial 53-man roster instead of five? We’ll work through all of those questions as training camp rolls on. I have Scotty Miller landing on the practice squad right now.
Tight Ends/Fullbacks (4) – Pat Freiermuth, Jonnu Smith, Darnell Washington, Connor Heyward
Analysis: There is a lot of support for rookie undrafted free agent FB DJ Thomas-Jones ahead of training camp getting underway. Additionally, a lot of fans are thinking that Connor Heyward’s time on the roster should now be up. I get both of those sentiments. However, until I have more of a reason to not have Connor Heyward on my 53-man roster, he will remain on it. He’s an above-average special teams player. The Steelers will keep at least four at this combined position group and possibly even five in total, depending on how the roster math plays out. For now, I have Thomas-Jones on the Week 1 practice squad.
Offensive Linemen (9) – Broderick Jones, Isaac Seumalo, Zach Frazier, Mason McCormick, Troy Fautanu, Spencer Anderson, Calvin Anderson, Dylan Cook, Ryan McCollum
Analysis: I have nine as the final count and the first listed five are the easy ones. Both of the Andersons feel inside the bubble ahead of camp getting underway and the same goes for McCollum, the only legitimate backup center on the team right now. Cook, who was injured last year, can play both tackle and guard. Has the team written him off now? Can a younger offensive lineman or two make the 53-man roster as one of the eight or nine? It’s plausible. It will be interesting to see if a veteran, possibly a tackle, is added as one of the nine before the regular season starts.
Defense (26)
Defensive Linemen (7) – Cameron Heyward, Keeanu Benton, Derrick Harmon, Daniel Ekuale, Isaiahh Loudermilk, Esezi Otomewo, Yahya Black
Analysis: There’s a lot that needs to be figured out these next several weeks when it comes to the backend of this position group. Sure, Cameron Heyward, Benton and Harmon are the easy ones. Ekuale, a free agent addition, and Black, a fifth-round draft selection this year, both certainly feel way inside the 53-man roster bubble as well. Will the Steelers keep six or seven defensive linemen in total? I think it will be seven. Right now, I have Loudermilk and Otomewo grabbing the final two spots. That could obviously change by Week 1. For now, I have Logan Lee, who missed all of his rookie season with a calf injury, starting the 2025 season on the practice squad.
Inside Linebackers (5) – Patrick Queen, Payton Wilson, Malik Harrison, Cole Holcomb, Carson Bruener
Analysis: The biggest question with these five inside linebackers might be Holcomb. He is a bit cheaper this year so unless he struggles coming off of that 2023 knee injury, it would make sense to keep him. As for Bruener, he should be very capable of being a core special teams player for the Steelers throughout his rookie season. Obviously, this would make ILB Mark Robinson expendable, and he could potentially land on the practice squad.
Outside Linebackers (4) – T.J. Watt, Alex Highsmith, Nick Herbig, Jack Sawyer
Analysis: It’s not hard to make these four the four outside linebackers and it’s unlikely the team will keep more than that number unless a player deeper on the depth chart just has a great preseason on special teams. For now, I have backup outside linebackers Jeremiah Moon and Julius Welschof landing on the practice squad with the latter being there with the international player designation.
Cornerbacks (6) – Joey Porter Jr., Jalen Ramsey, Darius Slay, Brandin Echols, Cory Trice Jr., James Pierre
Analysis: Obviously, Ramsey and Slay are the new veteran additions to this position group and they should be locks along with Porter. Echols was another offseason free agent addition the team had, and he certainly seems destined for a 53-man roster spot. Pierre is a damn good special teams player and probably the best gunner on the roster. That leaves one spot open for Trice or Beanie Bishop Jr. I will give the edge to Trice, but he better stay healthy all summer. For now, I will send Bishop to the practice squad to open the regular season.
Safeties (4) – DeShon Elliott, Juan Thornhill, Miles Killebrew, Quindell Johnson
Analysis: This might be the toughest position group to predict on the heels of the Steelers trading away S Minkah Fitzpatrick a few weeks ago. As things stand right now, Thornhill looks to be the top free safety on the team. Will the Steelers sign a veteran upgrade before Week 1? We’ll see. Killebrew is a special teams demon and should be the captain of that group again in 2025. He’s mainly a strong safety on defense as well. How about Johnson as a sleeper to be the fourth safety? It’s a bold prediction, but he does have some NFL experience as a fee safety and has played on special teams as well.
Specialists (3)
Kicker (1) – Chris Boswell
Analysis: Barring an injury, Boswell should be a lock again this season. His 2024 season was fantastic, and he might even get a 2025 cash raise at some point this summer. The Steelers have rookie undrafted free agent K Ben Sauls under contract ahead of training camp and the former Pitt kicker should take some of the summer load off of Boswell.
Punter (1) – Cameron Johnston
Analysis: While Johnston is coming off of a serious knee injury in 2024, the expectations are for him to return to form. He went down injured in Week 1 last season, so he’s had a lot of time to rehab. Just in case, the Steelers have P Corliss Waitman under contract this summer. While the odds probably aren’t great, maybe the Steelers could trade Waitman to another team in need of a punter just prior to the start of the 2025 regular season.
Long Snapper (1) – Christian Kuntz
Analysis: Kuntz is the incumbent long snapper once again. While the Steelers signed LS Tucker Addington to the offseason several weeks ago, he is not expected to threaten Kuntz for his job. With that said, stranger things have happened in the past.
Non-53-Man Spots (1)
Reserve/Injured (1) – Donald Parham Jr.
Analysis: Parham sustained an Achilles injury during OTAs, and he has been on the team’s Reserve/Injured list ever since. He’s likely to remain on that list throughout the 2025 season on a split salary.
Practice Squad (17) – WR Scotty Miller, CB Donte Kent, DT Logan Lee, CB Beanie Bishop Jr., WR Brandon Johnson, RB Trey Sermon, ILB Mark Robinson, OLB Jeremiah Moon, G Nick Broeker, G/T Aiden Williams, T Doug Nester, FB DJ Thomas-Jones, RB Max Hurleman, TE JJ Galbreath, S Sebastian Castro, DT Domenique Davis, OLB Julius Welschof (INT exception)
Analysis: Just 17 dart throws at practice squad signings and all from the 91-man roster entering training camp. The Steelers have a history of adding several players released from other NFL teams so obviously all 17 of my selections won’t hit. It will be interesting, however, to see how many of these 17 players do wind up starting the 2025 regular season on the practice squad.
Summary: As is usually the case, a lot of these 53-man roster projected players are quite obvious ones. There is, however, quite a bit of wiggle room when it comes to about 10 or so other spots in total, and that’s the case every year entering training camp.
As usual, I wanted to go with Future Player a few times in this prediction, especially at safety, because as history has shown us over the years, there are likely to be at least one or two more players on the Week 1 roster who were not with the team at the start of training camp. I, however, chose to make this prediction revolve around the 91 players currently under contract and then work from there as training camp and the preseason progress. I have all but one of this year’s draft picks, CB Donte Kent, making the Week 1 53-man roster. I also have an odd 24/26 player split on offense and defense on this initial roster prediction.
