Steelers Now
The Pittsburgh Steelers arrive for training camp this week at Saint Vincent College, with their first practice taking place on Thursday, July 24th. The front office has been extremely active this offseason, making a plethora of moves, even a few splash trades that seemed out of character compared to how they’ve historically operated. Time will tell how those decisions will play out in the long run, but there are even more decisions to be made in the near future, including having to trim the roster down from 90 to 53 players.
In the coming days, we’ll discuss positional battles that are worth keeping an eye on, but first, we must discuss some veterans that are firmly on the roster bubble. This is a short list of players that have been on the roster in years past, even contributing to varying degrees, but will need strong summers in order to make the cut this time around. It’s safe to say that the clock is ticking!
Once the league enacted the new kickoff rules, the Steelers jumped at the opportunity to sign the NFL’s all-time leader in kick return touchdowns. But Patterson, now 34 years old, missed most of training camp due to injury and could never get rolling in his first season in the black and gold. His 21.8 yards per return average was the worst in the league for players with a minimum of eight attempts. His history with offensive coordinator Arthur Smith could work in his favor, but with the team inking Kenneth Gainwell to a cheaper one-year deal to serve as the third cog in the rotation, his roster spot appears to be in serious jeopardy. It’s worth noting that Pittsburgh could save $2.8M in cap space if they moved on. Perhaps he fends off Father Time and looks rejuvenated after a healthy offseason, but even if this is it, he’s had a successful, albeit unusual, professional career.
Labeled as a tweener during the draft process, Leal spent most of his first two seasons playing along the defensive line before transitioning back to outside linebacker in 2024. That experiment didn’t yield favorable results in the small sample size of playing time before he suffered a significant neck injury that required a lengthy rehab this offseason. Now healthy, he faces an uphill climb to make the 53-man roster considering the strength of the position group overall and the team’s decision to select Jack Sawyer in the fourth round of the 2025 NFL Draft. Leal doesn’t have the springs to consistently win the corner off the edge, but his best path forward is trying to rediscover his path rush plan that made him so intriguing in that regard during his college days. Without any production to speak of up to this point, betting on that to happen seems like a long shot, but he’s got plenty of savvy vets to lean on for advice.
The Michigan State product...
