Pittsburgh Steelers running back Eli Heidenreich tries to break free from Buffalo Bills defensive lineman Zane Durant during the second half of Thursday’s preseason game in Orchard Park, N.Y. A rookie seventh-round pick and native of Mt. Lebanon, Heidenreich was a surprise to make the Steelers’ season-opening 53-man active roster. (AP)
For the first time in more than three decades, the Pittsburgh Steelers are entering a season with four quarterbacks on their roster.
To help make room for the abundance of passers, they jettisoned a former first-round pick, a recent third-round pick and a pair of veterans each at inside linebackers and defensive tackle.
But spared in all of the maneuvering was all 10 of their draft choices.
Late-round picks Gabriel Rubio, Robert Spears-Jennings and Eli Heidenreich made it through the NFL’s annual cut day unscathed and are on the initial Steelers’ 53-man active roster.
Not as lucky are inside linebackers Elandon Roberts (who has made 29 starts for the Steelers) and Malik Harrison (nine starts for the Steelers last season) or defensive linemen Dean Lowry (85 career NFL starts) and Esezi Otomewo (12 games played for the Steelers last season).
Also no longer with the Steelers after Sunday’s 6 p.m. league mandated roster-setting deadline are two high-profile draft picks from recent years in offensive tackle Broderick Jones and running back Kaleb Johnson.
Neither of those players, though, was cut. Jones, the 14th overall pick in 2023, was traded to the Dallas Cowboys along with a fourth-round pick in exchange for a third-round choice and a sixth-rounder.
Johnson, a third-round selection just 16 months ago, was sent to the Green Bay Packers for a 2028 sixth-round pick (pending a physical).
Jones was game throughout training camp and the preseason as he aimed to regain strength and conditioning following a neck injury late last season that necessitated surgery and had him unable to practice throughout the spring. But he had fallen out of the Steelers’ longterm plans, particularly after the usage of this year’s first-round draft pick on an offensive tackle, Max Iheanachor.
Johnson, meanwhile, never seemed comfortable running for the Steelers despite a pedigree that had him awarded as the Big Ten’s running back of the year after totaling 1,537 rushing yards in his final season at Iowa. And without a special teams role – especially after high-profile gaffe on a kickoff return early last season – Johnson tumbled way down the Steelers’ depth chart.
He was unofficially the sixth-most deployed running back during camp behind co-starters Jaylen Warren and Rico Dowdle, special-teams ace Travis Homer, Lew Nichols and Heidenreich.
Homer was a surprise release – though, like with anyone else, it is not atypical for the Steelers to potentially bring back a player or two over the two weeks before the regular season begins. A practice squad expected to be 17 players in length will be established Monday, and many of Sunday’s cuts are sure to stick with the Steelers in that capacity.
The practice squad was what many projected in the immediacy after the Steelers spent a sixth-round pick on defensive tackle Rubio and seventh-round selections on safety Spears-Jennings and Heidenreich.
Each, though, in his own way had a strong camp. Rubio’s size (6-5, 321) is ideal for run-stuffing. Spears-Jennings has a blend of size (6-2, 205) and speed (4.32 in the 40) to excel on special teams – and because of injury he got an abundance of first-team reps throughout camp practices at Saint Vincent College.
Then there’s Heidenreich, who won a PIAA championship at Mt. Lebanon and graduated after a stellar career at the Naval Academy. The so-called “Swiss Navy Knife” can fill a variety of bit roles on offense as well as contribute on special teams.
It had been known begore Sunday that both of the Steelers’ young quarterbacks – rookie Drew Allar and second-year Will Howard – would make the 53-man roster in addition to starter Aaron Rodgers and veteran backup Mason Rudolph. The Steelers most recently kept four quarterbacks to open a season in 1995.
Howard’s inclusion among the lucky 53 came at the expense of Roberts, Homer, Lowry or Otomewo. But a spot opened up – probably with Spears-Jennings as the beneficiary – with the decision to place DeShon Elliott on injured reserve. The incumbent starter at free safety suffered a significant knee injury last season and did not practice fully until late in the preseason.
That he did not respond well after playing 20 snaps in the second preseason game landed him on IR, meaning he will sit out a minimum of four games to open the season.
Joey Porter Jr. has no formal such restriction, however. He was taken off the physically unable to perform list, sparing him from likewise having to miss the season’s first four games.
Though Porter was listed as having a back injury, his absence from practice has repeatedly referred to as ‘business” related to negotiations for a contract extension. There is no indication that has evolved past the “impasse” that coach Mike McCarthy called it last week – but at least now Porter is formally able to practice and play.
It remains to be seen if he will do so if he and the Steelers do not agree to an extension prior to the team-imposed deadline of the eve of the opener.
Among the full list of Steelers’ cuts announced Sunday are the waiving of defensive linemen Kyler Baugh and Anthony Goodlow; defensive backs Devan Boykin, D’Shawn Jamison, Doneiko Slaughter and Sebastian Castro; wide receivers Max Hurleman and Brandon Smith; tight ends Lance Mason and Lake McRee; offensive linemen Steven Jones and Doug Nester; outside linebacker Julius Welschof and inside linebacker Jacoby Windmon.
Veteran offensive lineman Jack Driscoll was additionally put on IR and defensive back Donte Kent remains on PUP as the season opens.
About the Writer
Chris Adamski is a TribLive reporter who has covered primarily the Pittsburgh Steelers since 2014 following two seasons on the Penn State football beat. A Western Pennsylvania native, he joined the Trib in 2012 after spending a decade covering Pittsburgh sports for other outlets. He can be reached at cadamski@triblive.com.