The Pittsburgh Steelers aren’t done tweaking their roster, as with training camp less than a month away, the usual churn as the team figures out the best 53-man roster will occur. While a lot of moves made over the next few months will be minor, there’s certainly a chance the Steelers will still add potential impact players. Omar Khan has always added a contributor late in the offseason during his Steelers tenure, and The Athletic’s Mike DeFabo has an idea of what position group might be reinforced.
“I look at this as a situation where maybe around cut-down day, the safety position is one that the Steelers are looking around, saying can they upgrade?” DeFabo said on his The Yinziders podcast
DeFabo spoke highly of Jaquan Brisker and rookie Robert Spears-Jennings, whom he believes will play his way onto the roster. Jalen Ramsey and DeShon Elliott are other options at safety, with Sebastian Castro and Darnell Savage also in the mix. Given that Ramsey could play in the slot and might not be a full-time safety, adding another player to that group could make sense.
It will likely depend on how comfortable the Steelers are with Castro and/or Savage, but one injury could make the safety room look thin. It’s not an immediate need, but if the Steelers think they can maximize the talent at safety, adding someone near cutdown day is plausible.
In addition to safety, DeFabo believes the Steelers could make an in-season move for a wide receiver.
“I don’t feel super comfortable with where they are at the wide receiver position,” DeFabo said, breaking down the room and explaining how playing with Aaron Rodgers could be difficult for two unproven receivers in Germie Bernard and Roman Wilson.
“My concern would be what happens if you lose a guy to injury, or what happens if Roman Wilson doesn’t get off on the right foot with Aaron Rodgers again? Are you spinning your wheels? Are you in a situation like last year where you’re desperately trying to remake your receiver room on the fly?”
DeFabo said it’s more likely a receiver addition could come around the trade deadline depending on how things go early in the season with health and Rodgers’ connection with his young receivers, particularly Wilson. Wilson and Rodgers were never on the same page last season, which led to the 2024 third-round pick spending most of the second half of the season as a healthy scratch.
While there’s been some positive buzz about Bernard and how he’ll fit with Rodgers, it is still an adjustment for a rookie, and Ben Skowronek and Kaden Wetjen will primarily have special teams roles. While the top three of Metcalf/Pittman Jr./Bernard should be a solid group, it’s still worth wondering whether the Steelers could stand to make a move.
It feels much more likely that trading for a receiver would be due to injury rather than underperformance, and it’s not something that’s in the cards anytime soon. But one injury would really hurt the Steelers’ depth at receiver, and it’s certainly a position they could look to add if someone goes down. For now, though, the Steelers will monitor how the revamped room performs before going outside the organization.