Behind the Steel Curtain
These players have a better chance at the final 53-man roster than many expect:
The preseason is just weeks away. Training camp is just over one week away. It’s almost time to start discussing who will make the final cut as the Steelers begin to piece together their roster for the 2025 NFL season.
Who are some names who might be forgotten in that discourse? Here are six players with possible to probable chances at the final 53 who have slipped off the radar over the offseason:
Cam Heyward, Keeanu Benton, and Derrick Harmon are certain roster locks for the Steelers. Yahya Black and Daniel Ekuale feel like locks. But the Steelers kept eight defensive linemen on their initial 53-man roster last year, leaving three spots, give or take, available for the remaining D-linemen on the team.
Otomewo might be the most forgotten Steelers free agent addition of the new season. To be fair, the defensive end’s one-year, $1.03 million contract doesn’t exactly scream big signing. But his path to the final 53 is more likely than you might think.
Otomewo has appearances in nine NFL games and two career starts over his three seasons in the NFL. The former fifth-round pick is still just 26, and he’s a good athlete with intriguing size and length with nearly-35-inch arms.
Per PFF, Otomewo had nine pressures and one sack on just 53 pass rush snaps in 2024. He could be a younger alternative to Dean Lowry or a more experienced option compared to Logan Lee in the fight for a spot on the final 53.
The Steelers didn’t add much to their offensive line room over the 2025 offseason, opening the door for some development from the names already there.
Offensive tackle Dylan Cook has always been an intriguing talent. The former undrafted free agent joined the Steelers in 2023 out of Montana State. He made the switch from quarterback to offensive line while in college.
Cook made the Steelers’ 53-man roster in his first year with the team, but spent 2024 on the practice squad after starting the year on injured reserve.
Cook has yet to appear in a regular season NFL game, but he’s impressed over the preseason and training camp in the past. He’s played some guard and tackle, and currently looks like the Steelers’ second or third swing tackle behind Calvin Anderson and Spencer Anderson.
An athletic talent who learned the position late, Cook could still rise on the depth chart and make the final roster. He’s beaten the odds before.
The 2022 third-rounder never found his place in the Steelers defense, earning the dreaded “tweener” label with a skill set somewhere between an outside linebacker and a defensive end. Listed at 6’4, 290 pounds on the Steelers website, Leal has just six career starts over his three NFL seasons up to this point.
Playing more edge defender in 2024, Leal looked like an improved...
