By admin 
The Pittsburgh Steelers have completed the actual training camp portion of the preseason. Saint Vincent College will not see the team again until 2027. There was plenty of progress to observe in Latrobe and during the Steelers’ first preseason game. Now, the focus has shifted to Friday night’s matchup against the New York Jets.
Read more Final Injury Report for Fever-Tempo: Will Caitlin Clark, Kiki Rice Play?
The last 53-man roster projection took place after the first week of training camp. Since then, the Steelers have held padded practices, played an exhibition game, and provided more clarity on several roster battles. With training camp now complete and cutdown day 11 days away, here is an updated projection:
Offense (25)
Quarterback (3):Aaron Rodgers, Mason Rudolph, Drew Allar. Rudolph remains ahead of Will Howard in their competition, but Howard took a step forward Thursday night. Can he build on that performance Friday?
Running back (3):Rico Dowdle, Jaylen Warren, Lew Nichols. Kaleb Johnson is all but gone at this rate. The third running back battle will come down to Nichols and Travis Homer.
Tight end (4):Pat Freiermuth, Darnell Washington, Robert Tonyan, Riley Nowakowski. Nowakowski made an excellent one-handed grab and is becoming a fullback who could see more usage than you might expect.
Wide receiver (5):DK Metcalf, Michael Pittman Jr., Roman Wilson, Germie Bernard, Ben Skowronek. No changes here, but keep an eye on Brandon Smith as he looks to push Skowronek.
Offensive tackle (4):Broderick Jones, Dylan Cook, Troy Fautanu, Max Iheanachor. No changes here, but if the Steelers add a tackle instead of a sixth interior offensive lineman, Jack Driscoll will get the nod.
Interior offensive line (6):Zach Frazier, Spencer Anderson, Mason McCormick, Brock Hoffman, Genning Dunker, Ryan McCollum. McCollum gets the nod with Steven Jones recovering from an injury.
Read more What the Miami Heat offense will look like
Defense (25)
Outside linebacker (4): T.J. Watt, Alex Highsmith, Nick Herbig, Jack Sawyer. No changes and no surprises.
Inside linebacker (5):Patrick Queen, Cole Holcomb, Payton Wilson, Carson Bruener, Elandon Roberts. Roberts has changed things, but mostly on the interior defensive line for now.
Defensive tackle (6):Cam Heyward, Sebastian Joseph-Day, Keeanu Benton, Derrick Harmon, Yahya Black, Gabriel Rubio. Rubio has been the biggest leaper so far in camp, while Logan Lee is now on IR. Right now, you can expect a roster spot to either go to a fifth inside linebacker or a seventh defensive lineman.
Cornerback (6):Joey Porter Jr., Jamel Dean, Asante Samuel Jr., Brandin Echols, Daylen Everette, Jalen Ramsey. No changes here, but Ramsey could be kicked to safety more often than not with how well Samuel is playing.
Safety (4):Jaquan Brisker, DeShon Elliott, Robert Spears-Jennings, Rayshawn Jenkins. No changes here, but I’m not so sure Jenkins is a shoo-in. Perhaps another option is out there that we just don’t know about quite yet.
Special teams (3):Chris Boswell (K), Cameron Johnston (P), Christian Kuntz (LS). No changes again and no surprises, again.
Read more Ex-Ohio State Guard Jimmy Sotos Makes Jeremiah Smith Heisman Prediction
Copyright 2026 Athlon Sports. All rights reserved.
This story was originally published August 18, 2026 at 5:00 AM.