{"id":225105,"date":"2025-07-21T17:59:15","date_gmt":"2025-07-21T17:59:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/225105\/"},"modified":"2025-07-21T17:59:15","modified_gmt":"2025-07-21T17:59:15","slug":"pittsburgh-steelers-53-man-roster-projection","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/225105\/","title":{"rendered":"Pittsburgh Steelers 53-man roster projection"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Pittsburgh Steelers<\/a> report for training camp on Wednesday and will hold their first practice on Thursday. With that said, now feels like the best time to predict what the final 53-man roster will look like come Week 1, so let\u2019s get into it.<\/p>\n

Quarterbacks (3): Aaron Rodgers, Mason Rudolph, Will Howard<\/p>\n

\"Pittsburgh<\/p>\n

Photo by Joe Sargent\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

Nothing shocking here. Aaron Rodgers<\/a> is the guy in 2025, while Rudolph and Howard will be QB2 and QB3, respectively. Skylar Thompson gets relegated to the practice squad or let go altogether.<\/p>\n

Running Backs (4): Jaylen Warren, Kaleb Johnson, Kenneth Gainwell, Trey Sermon<\/p>\n

Warren will be the top running back on the roster, but Johnson will get an increasing number of touches as the weeks go on. Gainwell will be the No. 3 change-of-pace back while Sermon predominantly plays on special teams.<\/p>\n

Wide receivers (6): DK Metcalf, Amari Cooper, Calvin Austin, Roman Wilson, Robert Woods, Ben Skowronek<\/p>\n

\"Pittsburgh<\/p>\n

Photo by Joe Sargent\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

The Steelers have over $32 million in cap space remaining, so another move or two feels likely before Week 1. Cooper would be a fine No. 2, and an upgrade over all options they currently have. DK Metcalf<\/a> is the obvious No. 1. Austin will be the slot guy, while Wilson can rotate on the boundary and the slot. Woods will be better than what Mike Williams was, but he\u2019s not going to put up huge numbers or high snap counts. Skowronek will be the ace at gunner and fill in when needed at receiver. Scotty Miller will begin the year on the practice squad.<\/p>\n

Tight ends (3): Pat Freiermuth, Jonnu Smith, Darnell Washington<\/p>\n

Freiermuth and Smith will be receiving options above anything else. Smith especially – don\u2019t ask him to run block. Washington is an extension of the offensive line that we\u2019d all love to see get more targets, but I won\u2019t believe it will happen until I see it.<\/p>\n

Offensive linemen (8): Broderick Jones, Isaac Seumalo, Zach Frazier, Mason McCormick, Troy Fautanu, Spencer Anderson, Calvin Anderson, Max Scharping<\/p>\n

Again, no surprises here. Both Andersons will serve as backups, with Spencer Anderson being the swing tackle. Scharping will serve as the predominant interior reserve. Perhaps Dylan Cook gets called up, depending on injuries. The starting five is unquestioned, which is a nice change from the last several years when there\u2019s been at least one position up front that featured a camp competition. <\/p>\n

Defensive linemen (7): Cam Heyward, Keeanu Benton, Derrick Harmon, Daniel Ekuale, Isaiahh Loudermilk, Dean Lowry, Yahya Black<\/p>\n

\"Pittsburgh<\/p>\n

Photo by Justin Berl\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

Heyward, Benton, and Harmon could be the best defensive line in the NFL. Lowry proved to be a solid depth piece in 2024, and Loudermilk was brought back on a one-year deal to continue being a rotational piece. Ekuale played in 16 games for the Patriots in 2024 and registered 52 tackles, so expect him to be one of the top reserves.<\/p>\n

EDGE (4): T.J. Watt, Alex Highsmith, Nick Herbig, Jack Sawyer<\/p>\n

My bold prediction is that Herbig will be the No. 2 edge rusher by the end of the season, and Highsmith gets moved in 2026 as part of a package to move up for a quarterback in the draft. Watt needs a big year after signing his new massive extension. <\/p>\n

Linebackers (5): Patrick Queen, Payton Wilson, Cole Holcomb, Malik Harrison, Mark Robinson<\/p>\n

Queen and Wilson will be the starters with Holcomb rotating in. Harrison will be depth more than anything, and Robinson will be a special teamer.<\/p>\n

Cornerbacks (6): Joey Porter Jr, Jalen Ramsey, Darius Slay, Brandin Echols, Cory Trice, Beanie Bishop<\/p>\n

\"NFL:<\/p>\n

Photo by Randy Litzinger\/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images<\/p>\n

If all three of the Steelers\u2019 top corners pan out, this will be a deadly trio. Echols, Bishop, and potentially Trice will all provide depth both out wide and in the slot.<\/p>\n

Safeties (4): Julian Blackmon, DeShon Elliott, Juan Thornhill, Miles Killebrew<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s the other free agent prediction. Blackmon was one of PFF\u2019s highest-graded safeties in terms of coverage, earning a 73.5 grade, and he had three interceptions in 2024 with the Indianapolis Colts. Having him start alongside Elliott while having Thornhill as the No. 3 safety would make that position group much better and much deeper. Sebastian Castro will get called up during the season.<\/p>\n

Special teams (3): Chris Boswell, Cam Johnston, Christian Kuntz<\/p>\n

The only note here is that Johnston and Corliss Waitman will have a competition in camp. Both are good punters, but I\u2019ll give the edge to Johnston.<\/p>\n

We\u2019ll see the Steelers take the field for the first time on August 9th against the Jacksonville Jaguars<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Pittsburgh Steelers report for training camp on Wednesday and will hold their first practice on Thursday. With…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":176541,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2026],"tags":[2371,2373,7,29,3389,520,26584,2374,2375,2761,1647,2372,426,24],"class_list":{"0":"post-225105","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-football","8":"tag-behind","9":"tag-curtain","10":"tag-football","11":"tag-front-page","12":"tag-man","13":"tag-pittsburgh","14":"tag-pittsburgh-steelers-training-camp","15":"tag-pittsburgh-steelers-news","16":"tag-pittsburgh-steelers-roster","17":"tag-projection","18":"tag-roster","19":"tag-steel","20":"tag-steelers","21":"tag-the"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/114892529381396227","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/225105","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=225105"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/225105\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/176541"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=225105"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=225105"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=225105"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}