The Pittsburgh Steelers’ 2026 offseason practices concluded in the middle of June, and next up is the team’s annual training camp, which will get underway in the latter part of July at Saint Vincent College in Latrobe. Ahead of that, we will preview the team’s offseason roster three players at a time as part of a multi-post series. This Steelers ’90 in 30′ roster preview, which includes outlooks for every player, is organized alphabetically by last name for easy follow-along. This series figures to exceed 90 players this year as the team can carry 91 players during the offseason due to the allowance of one international player designation.
The next set of three players we will preview ahead of Steelers 2026 training camp are: TE Jaheim Bell, DL Keeanu Benton, and WR Germie Bernard.
TE Jaheim Bell: Originally drafted by the New England Patriots in the seventh round of the 2024 NFL Draft out of Florida State, Bell signed with the Steelers’ practice squad in late December. He ended the 2025 season on that unit and ultimately signed a Reserve/Future contract with the Philadelphia Eagles. The Eagles waived Bell in April, and the Steelers re-signed him in May.
During his college career, Bell caught 95 passes for 1,260 yards and nine touchdowns in 43 games. His first three college seasons were at South Carolina with his final at Florida State.
As a rookie with the Patriots, Bell appeared in 15 regular-season games in 2024. He recorded two receptions for 20 yards on three targets and logged 83 offensive snaps and 176 more on special teams. He made one tackle on special teams.
At the 2024 NFL Scouting Combine, Bell measured in at 6020, 241 pounds with 33-inch arms and 10-inch hands. He ran his 40-yard dash in 4.61 seconds and posted a vertical jump of 35 inches to go along with a broad jump of 10’4”.
Outlook: Bell will certainly have his work cut out for him in training camp this summer as he is currently the near the backend of the team’s tight end depth chart. Bell will likely need to hope that the Steelers keep at least four tight ends on the 53-man roster to start the season. Even that doesn’t guarantee he will win the fourth spot.
While Bell has played on special teams some during his limited playing time in the NFL, he’s far from being considered a legitimate asset in that phase of the game. With Bell being a bit undersized at 6020, that’s yet another strike against him. In college, Bell’s run blocking was just average at best, and that’s one area of his game he’ll need to improve rapidly throughout the summer.
Realistically, Bell, assuming he’s able to remain healthy and on the roster all summer, will be battling for a spot on the team’s regular-season practice squad once he arrives in Latrobe for training camp. He’ll certainly have plenty of competition as far as that prospective spot on the team.
DT Keeanu Benton: Originally selected by the Steelers in the second round of the 2023 NFL Draft out of Wisconsin, Benton registered his best statistical NFL season to date in 2025. He recorded 51 total tackles, six tackles for loss, 5.5 sacks, one pass defensed, 12 quarterback hits, and one forced fumble. The Wisconsin product started all 17 regular-season games in 2025 plus the team’s lone playoff game, where he recorded four total tackles, a sack, and a forced fumble.
Benton logged a career-high 746 defensive snaps in 2025 and 34 more on special teams. In the Steelers’ base defense in 2025, Benton was once again used as a nose tackle, and 216 of his total defensive snaps lined him up in the A-gap. However, 411 of Benton’s regular-season snaps in 2025 came with him being one of two, or just the lone defensive tackle, on the field. The Steelers were without rookie DT Derrick Harmon for five regular-season games in 2025 due to injuries, helping Benton garner more snaps outside of base defense personnel.
While Benton showed improvement in areas of his game in 2025, he still lacks consistency in his play throughout most games. Additionally, Benton wasn’t overly good against the run in 2025. As has been the modus operandi on Benton since he was drafted, he seems most effective and productive early in games and then wanes as contests progress.
Outlook: As was the case last offseason, Benton needs to take yet another step forward in overall play in 2026. While he finished more plays in 2025, especially sacks, he still needs to be much better against the run in what will be his third NFL season. He also needs to have more even play throughout games, especially in those in which he’s asked to play more than 50 percent of all defensive snaps.
The Steelers drafted DT Yahya Black in 2025, and there have been rumblings this offseason that he might threaten Benton for playing time at nose tackle in the base defense. Benton has all of training camp and preseason to show that he should have the dominant playing time at that spot. Should Black ultimately wind up overtaking Benton for the most playing time in the middle of the team’s base defense, the latter is sure to lose total snap volume. This is especially true if fellow defensive linemen Derrick Harmon and Cameron Heyward stay healthy this season.
While there have been rumblings that the Steelers might sign Benton to a contract extension this offseason, no such deal has been finalized as of this post. Additionally, it won’t be a huge surprise if Benton ultimately enters the 2026 regular season without a new deal. Should that be the case, Benton might be facing playing his final season in Pittsburgh in 2026.
While there’s not a lot of meat left on the proverbial bone when it comes to Benton’s ceiling as an NFL player, there is a little remaining in certain areas that he might gnaw off in 2026. If he enters the 2026 regular season without a contract extension, Benton will potentially be looking to boost his 2027 unrestricted free agent value throughout the year. That’s not a bad kind of carrot for the Steelers to have dangling over Benton in 2026.
WR Germie Bernard: The Steelers selected Bernard in the second round of the 2026 NFL Draft out of Alabama after trading up to the 47th overall pick. He was the eighth overall wide receiver selected in the draft. He was the highest selected wide receiver in a draft by the Steelers since 2006, when Santonio Holmes was picked 25th overall in the first round.
During his college career, Bernard, who played outside and inside, registered 155 receptions for 2,203 yards and 13 touchdowns in 53 games. Additionally, Bernard logged 36 rushing attempts for another 184 yards and five touchdowns during his college career, which started at Michigan State in 2022. While Bernard briefly functioned as a return man in college, he only registered 16 kickoff returns for 352 yards and three punt returns for another 43 yards. All of those returns came during his first two college seasons as well.
Bernard, just 22 years of age upon entering the NFL, played collegiately at Washington in 2023 before ending his college career with two seasons at Alabama. Considered a high character player throughout his college career, Bernard served as a team captain at Alabama during his final season in Tuscaloosa.
Bernard was a Senior Bowl invitee during the pre-draft process. At the 2026 NFL Scouting Combine, he measured in at 6012, 206 pounds with 30 3/8-inch arms and 9 7/8-inch hands. Bernard ran his combine 40-yard dash in 4.48 seconds and posted a vertical jump of 32.5 inches to go along with a 10’5” broad jump. His short-shuttle time was 4.3 seconds at the combine, and his three-cone time was 6.71 seconds.
Outlook: If things go the way most expect in 2026, Bernard will enter the regular season as an offensive skill player who sees quite a bit of playing time out of the chute, especially in 11 personnel. Realistically, Bernard could wind up playing right around 50-60 percent of all offensive snaps in 2026, and that assumes the two players ahead of him on the wide receiver depth chart, DK Metcalf and Michael Pittman Jr., stay healthy all season.
Bernard showed in college that he can play both inside and outside. Additionally, he is not afraid of working in the middle of the field and beyond 10 yards past the line of scrimmage as well. While Bernard will need to work to become a better contested catcher at the NFL level, he was extremely good after the catch during his college career. That YAC production should show itself early in his NFL career.
When it comes to his rookie season stat production in Pittsburgh, Bernard would do well to exceed 40 receptions and 375 receiving yards in 2026. Hitting 50 receptions for his rookie season would be fantastic, but that shouldn’t be an expectation. Bernard’s above-average ability as a run blocker should quickly show itself throughout his rookie season as well.
All told, Bernard has a great chance to become the 2026 recipient of the Joe Greene Great Performance Award. This annual award goes to the team’s top rookie as voted on by the Pittsburgh Chapter of Pro Football Writers of America.
Previous Posts In This Series:
90 In 30: Steelers 2026 Training Camp Preview Series — Drew Allar, Spencer Anderson, Kyler Baugh
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