Behind the Steel Curtain
The Steelers’ final preseason game is almost here, with Pittsburgh taking on the Carolina Panthers on Thursday for their last exhibition game before the regular season kicks off.
Pittsburgh has sat most of its starters through the first two weeks of the preseason, and there’s reason to expect the team to follow a similar strategy in the third.
While that approach has made it hard to pinpoint what exactly the Steelers’ starters will look like in the regular season, it has opened the door for roster bubble players to get plenty of snaps to make their case for a spot on the roster or practice squad ahead of cutdown day on Aug. 26.
A number of names come to mind, but for the sake of this exercise I’ll exclude rookies, who could still develop on the practice squad for a year without significantly hurting their career trajectory.
However, a handful of veterans have plenty to prove (and lose!) in Week 3 of the preseason:
EDGE Demarvin Leal: Entering the final year of his rookie deal with the Steelers, Leal seems to finally have moved to outside linebacker. But with one career sack he still hasn’t lived up to this third-round draft slot, and a quiet preseason hasn’t helped his roster chances. With 2025 fourth-rounder Jack Sawyer looking like Pittsburgh’s OLB4 entering the new season, Leal still needs to show a lot more to impress teams and earn a roster spot elsewhere.
WR Robert Woods: The veteran receiver was seen as a roster lock by some entering the summer, but he’s plummeted down the depth chart during the preseason with just one catch for four yards over the first two weeks. And with a number of undrafted free agent receivers also impressing in August, the 33-year-old is suddenly a strong cut candidate who might even miss the practice squad.
CB Beanie Bishop Jr.: Bishop has had an up and down preseason so far, but with Jalen Ramsey expected to start in the slot and Brandin Echols taking snaps there in practice recently, Bishop could go from a starter in 2024 to off the roster in 2025. He’s held his own in a crowded Steelers cornerback room, but still hasn’t separated himself from the pack; a lack of boundary and gunner versatility hurts him as well. Bishop should still make the practice squad at worst, but it would be a disappointing update to his career trajectory.
CB Cory Trice Jr.: Trice may not even play Thursday, as he’s been dealing with an injury over the course of the preseason. Talent-wise, he’s one of the team’s top cornerbacks, but his availability issues may take him out of roster contention. If he can manage to play on Thursday and impress, it would be a much-needed boost to his surprisingly precarious roster chances.
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