Robert Tonyan
Robert Tonyan
Player: TE Robert Tonyan
Stock Value: Up
Reasoning: If you thought the Steelers would only carry two true tight ends, Robert Tonyan has something to say about that. While they added Riley Nowakowski after losing Jonnu Smith and Connor Heyward, Tonyan is looking like a safe roster bet. Not just because Aaron Rodgers likes him, but all the quarterbacks seem to. And even ST coordinator Danny Crossman mentioned him as a veteran who understands his role on special teams.
Robert Tonyan won a spot on the 90-man roster as a tryout player during the Steelers’ veteran minicamp in June. By the middle of August, he’s looking like a safe bet to make the 53-man roster. Or relatively safe, anyway, if they can manage to carry four tight-end-like players.
Pat Freiermuth and Darnell Washington are obvious locks to make the team. The coaches are already speaking glowingly of Riley Nowakowski, a rookie fifth-round pick. But Tonyan is impressing, too, and has especially seen favor with the team’s younger quarterbacks. That’s not a surprise, given his ample experience in the NFL.
But if Tonyan is going to make the 53-man roster, he can’t just be a safety valve on offense. For one thing, he’s probably not going to play a whole lot on offense. Freiermuth and Washington will dominate the snap count, and the offense will play more 11 personnel than in the past two seasons under Arthur Smith.
No, instead, Tonyan is going to have to earn his spot on special teams, which will be something to watch for during the preseason. It’s something he’s done before, and even last year he logged over 100 special teams snaps for the Chiefs. Two years earlier in Chicago, he played over 200 special teams snaps. He knows what he has to do, and you can bet he’s going to do it. As long as he does it well enough, that will be his key to retaining a spot in September.
With the 2026 training camp here and many moves made, we have stock to take. Already promisinga year of change, the Steelers have shaken things up. That is unavoidable, of course, when you gut the coaching staff. Mike Tomlin’s resignation has fundamentally changed this football team, including the players on the roster.
After a long season, the Steelers showed the ability to win the division and make the playoffs. But they also showed that their progress was minimal,since they made it no further. Two years in a row, with two different quarterbacks, they went 10-7 and lost in the Wild Card Round. The only differences are they ended the season on a higher note and won the AFC North. But it didn’t help.