The Pittsburgh Steelers are finalizing their 90-man roster for the summer of 2023, despite knowing that 38 of these players will not be on the roster for when Week 1 comes around. While many of these cuts will be from camp bodies that didn't have much of a chance to begin with, there will be some cuts from rostered players that may or may not have gotten some playing time for the Steelers in 2022. Some of the camp battles will be tough to gauge, but some of the cuts could be very easy.
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Kendrick Greene celebrates a touchdown with his teammates
Steelers Could Absolutely Move On From The Kendrick Green Experiment
Even if Kendrick Green takes the advice of Vince Williams and moves to fullback, he probably won't survive cutdown day. After an underwhelming rookie season at center in 2021, the Steelers quickly gave up on that experiment and had him compete with Kevin Dotson for the starting job at left guard in 2023 and he disappointed there as well. With all the offensive line signings of late and insane depth on interior offensive line, Green is obviously the odd man out.
The former third-round pick was set up for failure as he was the starting center from day one of his rookie year, despite being a natural guard. He was immediately tasked with filling Maurkice Pouncey's shoes, especially with him choosing Pouncey's number as his own. Green might have had some potential, but it's gone now, and competing with Connor Heyward at fullback won't be an option.
It took even less time for a former All-Pro to fall out of favor with the Steelers and it's somewhat surprising that Gunner Olszewski hasn't been cut yet. After a pair of muffs very early in the 2022 season, he was benched for Steven Sims and only saw the field when the offense was in an obvious run situation. Unless he suddenly goes back to his All-Pro form that he had with the New England Patriots, he might just be one of the first players cut in the summer.
AP Photo/Matt Durisko
Pittsburgh Steelers Wide Receiver George Pickens (14) High Fives teammate Gunner Olszewski Before a Game.
Calvin Austin III and Anthony Miller are the favorites for the return man position. Miller is a veteran that turned heads in camp in 2022 before tearing his ACL. Austin was the next man up before a nagging injury turned into season-ending surgery in the middle of the 2022 season.
Even with Steven Sims off the team, Olszewski is coming into camp as the third or maybe even fourth string returner. The odds are stacked against him and he likely won't find that previous form again. The Steelers could use that extra $2 million in cap space.
With many moves made in the secondary, Miles Killebrew might not be able to use his special teams prowess to keep him on the roster. Keanu Neal was signed in the offseason and Damontae Kazee re-signed with the organization. The thing that would separate Tre Norwood from Killebrew is that Norwood will be in competition for the slot corner position as well as more safety depth. Killebrew doesn't have a role defensively at this point.
Steelers safety Miles Killebrew makes a punt block in Week 1 2021 against the Buffalo Bills. Mark Konezny/USA Today Sports, via Reuters
He could have maybe kept the special teams role if it wasn't for the signing of Tanner Muse. Muse also fills a hole on defense by boosting what little linebacker depth that the Steelers have. With Heyward losing his tight end role and most likely shifting to fullback, he could also take some special teams snaps away from Killebrew. The positions that Killebrew would play have been filled during the offseason. Releasing him would save another $2 million in cap space as well.
What do you think about these players that aren't a lock to make it to the 53-man roster for Week 1? Let us know in the comments.
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