Welcome to our second go-round with the projection of the Pittsburgh Steelers’ 53-man roster. There are only a few changes from last week, but they’re fairly significant.
OFFENSE (25)
Quarterbacks (3) – Ben Roethlisberger, Bruce Gradowski, Landry Jones
Running Backs (3) – Le’Veon Bell, LeGarrette Blount, Dri Archer
Fullback (1) – Will Johnson
Wide Receivers (6) – Antonio Brown, Markus Wheaton, Lance Moore, Justin Brown, Martavis Bryant, Darrius Heyward-Bey
Tight Ends (4) – Heath Miller, Matt Spaeth, Michael Palmer, Eric Waters
Linemen (8) – Maurkice Pouncey, Ramon Foster, David DeCastro, Marcus Gilbert, Kelvin Beachum, Cody Wallace, Mike Adams, Guy Whimper
HERE’S OUR THINKING: As much as we’d like to drop Landry Jones to the practice squad, Mike Tomlin likes three QBs on the roster so he’s staying. Our other major question is at tight end where the top two are clear and maybe even the top three, but will they keep a fourth knowing they can use Mike Adams as a ‘blocking’ and I stress “blocking” tight end? Therefore I’m going to take Waters off the roster.
DEFENSE (25)
Defensive Line (7) – Steve McLendon, Cam Heyward, Cam Thomas, Stephon Tuitt, Josh Mauro, Daniel McCullers, Brian Arnfelt
Linebackers (9) – Lawrence Timmons, Ryan Shazier, Jason Worilds, Jarvis Jones, Arthur Moats, Vince Williams, Sean Spence, Howard Jones, Terence Garvin
Defensive Backs (9) – Troy Polamalu, Mike Mitchell, Shamarko Thomas, Robert Golden, Ike Taylor, William Gay, Cortez Allen, Antwon Blake, Brice McCain
HERE’S OUR THINKING: The linebacking situation may be taking care of itself. Jordan Zumwalt didn’t play against Buffalo and you can’t make the roster by not playing. Howard Jones has convinced me whether he does another thing or not that he can play in this league. He’s been a monster on special teams and has recorded three fumble recoveries in two games. I’m sticking to my feeling that Will Allen is in a bit of trouble. Rob Golden played pretty well while Allen sat out.
SPECIALISTS (3)
Punter (1) - Brad Wing
Kicker (1) – Shaun Suisham
Long Snapper (1) – Luke Ingram
HERE’S OUR THINKING: With Adam Podlesh n the reserve/Did not report list, the punting job is Brad Wing’s to lose and he’s trying to do that by being inconsistent. I think they’ll bring in a free agent this week but for now, he’s our guy. Greg Warren has a torn meniscus and is out for the season. Enter Luke Ingram who was in camp last season with the Steelers.
Marc Uhlmann writes for and co-owns www.steelcityblitz.com. Follow him on Twitter @SteelDad and the website @SCBlitz. Check us out on Facebook at facebook.com/steelcityblitz and on Fancred.com. You can hear him weekly during the season on Trib-Live Radio
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