Breaking down last three roster battles
After last Saturday鈥檚 game I added five players, and as the Steelers head into tonight鈥檚 preseason finale against the Carolina Panthers, with Saturday鈥檚 cut down date looming, I鈥檓 adding these four to give them 51:
n Ryan Switzer, WR/RS 鈥� With Marcus Tucker limping around on a bad ankle and Eli Rogers set for the PUP list and his one-game suspension, the WR corps is lacking in the slot. Switzer was brought in primarily for his return skills, but he caught 96 passes as Mitch Trubisky鈥檚 slot receiver at North Carolina two years ago, so he can help the Steelers at another position, something Quadree Henderson can鈥檛 do. The Steelers have already sunk draft capital into Switzer, so he鈥檚 a lock.
n Keion Adams, OLB 鈥� He鈥檚 bigger and more polished than rookie Ola Adeniyi, who鈥檚 reminds people of James Harrison, who, of course, cleared waivers three times in his first two seasons. Adeniyi will clear waivers as well and make it back to the practice squad.
Farrington Huguenin is another interesting OLB prospect. Before dropping his weight to 250 and developing coverage range with his 6-4 frame and long arms, Huguenin was a defensive tackle inside of Bud Dupree at Kentucky. He spent last season on the practice squad.
n L.J. Fort, ILB 鈥� The fifth insider linebacker is a core member of the special teams and is coming off an outstanding game (to go along with a strong finish to training camp).
n Brian Allen, CB 鈥� A sixth cornerback who, at 6-feet-3, would probably be the first claimed if he were to be included in Steelers cuts on Saturday. Can鈥檛 have too much depth at cornerback, and Allen helps as a gunner on the punt team.
At 51 players, that allows for three more to make a 54-man group, of which Le鈥橵eon Bell won鈥檛 become official until the day before the opener. By then the Steelers can have a better feel for the inactives and cut their most expendable remaining player.
The way I see it, the three spots will be taken by the winners of the following three battles against the Panthers:
Running back
Stevan Ridley鈥檚 been injured since the opener, when he carried 10 times for only 14 yards. But he also caught three passes for 45, which is 100 percent more than Toussaint, who has the edge in rushing (13-55-TD, 4.2 avg.).
Toussaint has the edge on special teams, where he was the personal protector/signal-caller and kickoff returner (17.5 avg.) in Game 2. Toussaint (5-9, 204) has been outstanding in blitz pick-up and is quicker, but Ridley (5-11, 220) is bigger and a better receiver.
Tight end
I asked Mike Tomlin if he鈥檚 worried about injuries 鈥� with Vance McDonald (foot) and Xavier Grimble (thumb) having missed weeks of practice 鈥� and Tomlin said, 鈥淚 am not鈥� with extra emphasis on 鈥淚.鈥� Kind of a hint that he鈥檚 already said 鈥淣ext man up鈥� in his mind of McDonald can鈥檛 play in the opener. (Grimble will play with a cast.)
Unless the Steelers trade one of their excess cornerbacks for a tight end, the next man up will be either Bucky Hodges (6-6, 257) or Pharoah McKever (6-6, 248).
McKever is the only one of the two to catch passes (2-13) this preseason, but Hodges caught 133 passes at Virginia Tech, where he developed a playmaker鈥檚 pedigree. Hodges was drafted in the sixth round last year and the Steelers are his fourth team. McKever is a converted defensive end who has more potential than polish.
The Steelers will use rookie tackle Chuks Okorafor at tight end in their jumbo set, so perhaps there isn鈥檛 much of a need at the position, and these two are battling instead for a spot on the practice squad. If that鈥檚 the case, 6-8, 360-pound tackle Zach Banner, added during camp, has a chance to make the roster after an impressive showing last Saturday.
Safety
Tomlin said he showed rookie Marcus Allen (along with the rest of the team) tape of famed Game 4 exploits against the Panthers that helped Antonio Brown and Ross Ventrone make the roster because of their play on special teams. Tomlin probably included Allen鈥檚 name because they鈥檝e been hoping for him to improve his play on special teams.
Allen鈥檚 been injured throughout camp, and has also disappointed in coverage. He鈥檚 a box safety on a team loaded with box safeties, and the fifth-round pick will have a difficult time beating out former Penn State teammate Malik Golden for a spot on the practice squad.
So, the fourth and final spot at safety is most likely being waged by veterans Nat Berhe and Jordan Dangerfield.
Berhe was acquired in free agency because of his reputation on special teams. He leads the Steelers with four special-teams tackles, but has shown shaky open-field tackling as a safety. But Berhe, since he plays free safety, probably has the edge going into the game. However, Dangerfield has won these battles in the past.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a final exam. It鈥檚 weighted,鈥� Tomlin said of tonight鈥檚 game. 鈥淚t is because you want to see how they perform under duress or anxiety or pressure, because that is reflective of this journey we are about to get on. So, I don鈥檛 mind drawing them all in, telling them how important this game is, because it is, and by seeing how they perform while knowing all of that I think you鈥檒l learn a little about them in the midst of that. And that is OK.鈥�
The Fittest 51
QB (3) 鈥� Ben Roethlisberger, Landry Jones, Mason Rudolph.
RB (4) 鈥� Le鈥橵eon Bell, James Conner, Rosie Nix, Jaylen Samuels.
WR (6) 鈥� Antonio Brown, JuJu Smith-Schuster, Justin Hunter, James Washington, Darrius Heyward-Bey, Ryan Switzer.
TE (3) 鈥� Vance McDonald, Jesse James, Xavier Grimble.
OL (8) 鈥� Alejandro Villanueva, Ramon Foster, Maurkice Pouncey, David DeCastro, Marcus Gilbert, B.J. Finney, Matt Feiler, Chuks Okorafor.
DL (6) 鈥� Cameron Heyward, Javon Hargrave, Stephon Tuitt, Tyson Alualu, Daniel McCullers, L.T. Walton.
OLB (4) 鈥� T.J. Watt, Bud Dupree, Anthony Chickillo, Keion Adams.
ILB (5) 鈥� Vince Williams, Jon Bostic, Matthew Thomas, Tyler Matakevich, L.J. Fort.
CB (6) 鈥� Joe Haden, Artie Burns, Mike Hilton, Cameron Sutton, Coty Sensabaugh, Brian Allen.
S (3) 鈥� Sean Davis, Morgan Burnett, Terrell Edmunds.
ST (3) 鈥� Chris Boswell, Jordan Berry, Kameron Canaday.