The Pittsburgh Steelers set their initial 53-man roster Sunday evening, but there’s plenty more maneuvering the team can do. Like the NFL’s 31 other teams, Pittsburgh’s pro personnel department will scour the thousand-plus players cut yesterday for new faces who could help the Steelers.

Here’s a list of several names Pittsburgh could consider. The possibilities are vast so I focused on three potential areas of need: swing tackle, safety, and wide receiver. The Broderick Jones trade left the Steelers thin at offensive tackle, injuries are piling up at safety, and receiver still isn’t one of the league’s strongest groups.

Offensive Tackle
Trent Scott/Commanders

Hello, old friend? Scott spent the 2022 season with the Steelers and though he hardly played, he fits the bill of what Pittsburgh wants. At least, in the sense of versatility and veteran depth.

Scott has logged over 600 career snaps at right tackle, nearly 1,000 at left tackle, and a couple hundred at guard. This preseason, he played both tackle spots and right guard. Scott is hardly a long-term option, but it’s difficult to find high-end talent on the waiver wire or in this case due to Scott’s veteran status as a street free agent.

I wish I could add a connection to OL Coach James Campen, but the two have been two ships passing in the night. Scott’s last year in Los Angeles came in 2019 with Campen hired by the Chargers in 2020. The same held true in Carolina. Scott’s final season there was in 2021 with Campen brought in the year after.

At 32, it would be nice to have a true veteran in a room of young players.

KT Leveston/Browns

Leveston has just a year of game experience under his belt after missing his rookie year in 2024 due to injury. Finding his way to Cleveland in 2025, he played both tackle spots throughout the year: 464 at right tackle and 181 at left tackle. That carried over into the preseason, and he even mixed in at right guard. He’s shorter but has good length in a build similar to Troy Fautanu.

The offensive line simply doesn’t offer many appealing options at this time of the year. It’s the reason why there were roughly double-digit offensive line trades over the weekend, including Dallas acquiring Broderick Jones. Demand greatly outweighs demand.

Charlie Heck/Dolphins

I’ve mentioned Heck a time or two before. Primarily a right tackle throughout his career, he saw more work at left tackle this summer: 55 on the left side to 21 on the right side. Heck’s always been a marginal player and being cut by a Miami team retooling its roster is a troubling sign, but Heck could be in practice squad consideration with the chance to be elevated if needed.

A similar player to Jack Driscoll, who opens the year on Pittsburgh’s injured reserve list.

Blake Freeland/Colts

Arguably the most interesting name on this list. A former fourth-round pick, Freeland logged time at both tackle spots as a rookie before missing all of 2025 with a broken leg. The Colts moved on from him on Sunday. In the preseason, Freeman earned high marks as a run blocker though low ones in the passing game. Still, he’s just 25 years old and is worth thinking about considering he’s only had one full year of play.

Freeland is subject to waivers, meaning the Steelers could submit a claim and lose out to a team higher in the order.

Safety
Ashtyn Davis/49ers

Several are pointing to Geno Stone as an option, and I get the baseline reasoning. A former ballhawk, local native, and a guy who has played all around the AFC North. But he looked like a mess last year in Cincinnati, missing an incredible 23 tackles. The Steelers don’t need that, and they need someone more physical. Davis is that guy.

Though Davis has his own warts as a tackler, his career miss rate is much lower than Stone’s. He’s bigger and more physical and was reasonably productive last season with 65 tackles, four pass breakups, one forced fumble, and one interception.

Davis’ 73 preseason snaps at free safety this summer tied for 12th-most in the league. He would offer another layer of depth while DeShon Elliott gets healthy.

Terrell Burgess/Saints

Burgess was a bit of a surprise cut in New Orleans Sunday. A backup for much of his career, he’s still logged nearly 500 career defensive snaps. He’s also tallied over 1,000 on special teams.

Per Pro Football Focus, Burgess played a mix of free (64) and strong (27) snaps this preseason, which is similar to his regular-season splits (212 FS, 130 box). This summer, PFF graded him as the No. 9 safety with strong marks across the board. He doesn’t turn 28 until November, either.

The Saints may want him back to their practice squad, but Burgess would probably turn that down to jump on Pittsburgh’s 53. He’d be the top name I’d target.

AJ Finely & Rodney Thomas II/Seahawks

Lumping two Seattle safeties together. Thomas is more experienced with 68 games played and 26 starts. In 2025, he picked up 21 tackles on 278 special teams snaps and another 150 defensively with the Indianapolis Colts. He signed with Seattle in March. Thomas has played free safety for most of his career, and Mike McCarthy admitted during camp that the team felt thin at the position. Thomas is also a Pittsburgh native who played at Central Catholic.

One complicating factor is Thomas’ recent hand injury, but he wasn’t released with an injury designation Sunday.

Finley has just 75 career defensive snaps but another 432 on special teams. His 100 free safety snaps this summer were fourth most of anyone in the league, and he offers size at 6-2, 200 pounds. He missed 2025 with an ACL injury, but that might make him easier for the Steelers to sign, and he seemed to play well in his return to action this summer.

Wide receiver
Zay Jones & Justin Watson/Texans

It was hard to find the right names for Pittsburgh at receiver, and part of my interest is over concern with Ben Skowronek and his preseason finale injury. Although he avoided IR yesterday, that doesn’t mean he’s fully in the clear to play Week 1. Pittsburgh would likely prefer a veteran with a quicker grasp on the system than a young player, too.

So I landed on a pair of Texans in Jones and Watson. Both failed to make much of a mark last year, but Jones flashed downfield plays with a 15.3-yard average on his 12 receptions. Watson caught 22 passes for almost 300 yards and two touchdowns in 2024. He’s a Western Pennsylvania native and a three-time Super Bowl champ. Omar Khan hasn’t hidden his affinity for those who have won it all.

Both feel like longer shots and better fits for the practice squad. Still, I wanted to suggest something at receiver even if the current group of six looks like the depth chart for Week 1.