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The Pittsburgh Steelers are nearing the start of their 2022 season. And as they finish up training camp and preseason play, there are going to be some unexpected players who are part of the Steelers roster cuts. That's simply the nature of the business.
For Pittsburgh, the 2022 season is all about finding out who their quarterback of the future is. Kenny Pickett has looked great early on in preseason play, but will it be enough to take the starting job from Mitch Trubisky before the start of the season? Chances are it won't be, but Trubisky probably has a shorter leash than initially expected.
Aside from their unknown quarterback situation, the Steelers have a very solid roster heading into the 2022 season, which is going to make the roster cutting portion of their offseason very tough. Let's look at three players who could unexpectedly be cut from the Steelers roster before Week 1 of the regular season.
3. Miles Boykin
After a pair of promising seasons with the Baltimore Ravens to open his career, Miles Boykin had just one catch for six yards with the Ravens last season. It was an unbelievably disappointing season for the former third-round draft pick, and he was cut by Baltimore over the offseason.
Boykin latched on with the Steelers in hopes that he could find a spot on the roster for himself. The chances of that don't appear to be great, though. Pittsburgh has a lot of depth at wide receiver, and Boykin hasn't necessarily done much to stand out and cement a roster spot for himself throughout training camp and preseason action.
With Diontae Johnson, Chase Claypool, and George Pickens leading the way, it's going to be tough for Boykin to get playing time with the Steelers this season. He has upside, but it doesn't seem likely he will be given the opportunity to realize it in Pittsburgh. For that reason, Miles Boykin is a potential cut candidate over the next few days.
2. Benny Snell Jr.
Benny Snell Jr. has been a serviceable backup running back to start his career, but he may end up being on his way out the door for the Steelers this offseason. Snell put together a lackluster 2021 season, and has seen Jaylen Warren emerge as a real threat to take his backup running back spot away from him.
Snell's 2021 season, in which he had just 36 carries for 98 yards, isn't going to cut it. Ideally, the Steelers would like to be able to give Najee Harris some plays off, as he shouldered a massive workload out of the backfield last season. But Snell has only averaged 3.5 yards per carry throughout his career, which isn't exactly good. If Warren continues to show out, the Steelers will almost have to give him a roster spot.
That roster spot may end up coming at the expense of Snell, who hasn't done much to secure a roster spot for himself early on in his career. And now with Snell getting outworked by Warren in training camp, the writing could be on the wall for the veteran running back. Snell still may have the inside track to a roster spot, but he's playing with fire at this stage of the game.
1. Mason Rudolph
We already mentioned the Steelers quarterback competition, and it looks like the odd man out at this point is Mason Rudolph. Rudolph has looked solid throughout preseason action so far this summer, but with Pickett outperforming him, and Trubisky having the inside track to the starting role, it appears Rudolph's path to the starting job is blocked for the time being.
Pittsburgh could technically keep Rudolph around as a third quarterback given the fact that both Trubisky and Pickett are question marks, but it doesn't seem like something they need to do. They could move on from Rudolph and open up another roster spot that could be used at another position group.
There's a chance that Rudolph could be traded as well, but his value probably isn't extremely high. The Las Vegas Raiders recently moved on from backup quarterback Nick Mullens for a late-round draft pick, and it feels like Rudolph could be moved in a similar sort of deal if the Steelers wanted to. It wouldn't be glamorous, but something is better than nothing.
Pittsburgh ultimately may not find be able to find a trade partner for Rudolph, and if that's the case, releasing him makes the most sense. The Steelers don't have a need for Rudolph, and that 53 man roster is going to look very small when Steelers roster cuts come around. Releasing Mason Rudolph may be a bit wasteful, but in the grand scheme of things, he doesn't appear to have a future in Pittsburgh.
