The Pittsburgh Steelers wrapped up their offseason program recently, and the roster and depth chart are now taking shape. Fans should get a clearer picture of how everything is going to look with the team once training camp begins near the end of July. The roster does look much better at this point than it did a year ago, and that is in large part due to the way the team addressed the wide receiver position both via trade and through the 2026 NFL Draft. Many of the areas of concern on the roster have been improved, but General Manager Omar Khan is probably still looking to make some moves.
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Steelers General Manager Omar Khan standing on the field during warmups before a road game in Cincinnati during the 2024 season.
It is hard to tell which area of the roster Khan might have a desire to improve. Some might assume some more depth in the wide receiver room could be needed, but the Steelers have some young guys at wideout that the organization is hoping can contribute. Inside linebacker is a questionable position, but the secondary is really where the questions lie. Things are fine at cornerback, but the Steelers could be in trouble at safety with an injury or two.
Beat writer Mike DeFabo was asked in his most recent mailbag for The Athletic about what the defensive back room might look like once roster cuts happen, and he mentioned that adding a safety from around the league could be an option.
"That would hypothetically leave room for one more," DeFabo wrote. "Safety Sebastian Castro, a UDFA last offseason, was getting a lot of first-team reps in place of Elliott (who wasn’t quite ready for full-team work). However, seventh-round rookie safety Robert Spears-Jennings has looked good, and I think they’ll keep him. I also expect them to look for a potential safety who gets cut from another team to upgrade that group, and maybe they push Spears-Jennings and Castro to the practice squad."
At safety, the Steelers currently have Jalen Ramsey, DeShon Elliott, and Jaquan Brisker at the top of the depth chart. Elliott is coming back from a pretty serious hamstring injury, Ramsey is slowing down at his age, but most are very high on Brisker. The organization needs some more quality depth behind them, as right now the depth is made up of Sebastian Castro, Robert Spears-Jennings, and Darnell Savage.
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Steelers' Sebastian Castro putting in work during the 2026 offseason.
The reports regarding Castro coming out of the offseason program have been very promising. Not much is expected out of him as he is a former undrafted free agent, but he could make his way onto the team. He contributed on special teams for the Steelers in 2025, and he has been showing growth at safety. He could be someone to watch to fill that Miles Killebrew-type role. Spears-Jennings is a seventh-round rookie out of Oklahoma, and as a seventh-rounder in a 10-man draft class, his roster spot is not guaranteed.
If neither Castro nor Spears-Jennings shows incredible growth during training camp or the preseason, DeFabo could see Pittsburgh putting both players on the practice squad and pursuing another veteran.
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Steelers Head Coach Mike McCarthy stands on the field and looks off into the distance as he watches players take part in rookie minicamp during a workout in Pittsburgh, PA.
Steelers Should Have Several Options At Safety
If Pittsburgh decides to take the route of putting both Castro and Spears-Jennings on the practice squad, there are a few intriguing free agent safeties available. A name like Taylor Rapp would be interesting, as would Xavier Woods. There should also be some interesting veterans that are released due to salary-related reasons, and one of those guys could be an option for Pittsburgh. Pittsburgh followed this same plan in 2025 as the team signed Chuck Clark right before training camp began.
What do you think of the Steelers going out and adding another safety? Let me know on X, @brogannoey!
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