On Tuesday, the Pittsburgh Steelers finalized their cuts and sent 37 guys out into the world without gainful employment. This has been a wild offseason for the Steelers and many of the decisions about the cuts left us scratching our heads. Here are our big takeaways from the initial roster.
That punter situation
The Steelers opted to keep two punters, Pressley Harvin III and Braden Mann. Obviously, this will change in the next few days but it could go a couple of directions. The Steelers might be working a trade and didn’t want Mann to hit the market. Or they want to let the dust settle and then try to stash him on the practice squad.
We love Dylan Cook
We are so glad the Steelers chose to hang onto Dylan Cook. He’s a versatile offensive lineman who provides quality depth at not just guard but offensive tackle, which this team needs. They have plenty of guys who can play all over inside but Cook gives them something else.
Losing Breiden Fehoko hurts
Someone had to go but we hate that it was nose tackle Breiden Fehoko. He is so powerful and just looked so in control at the line of scrimmage, I feel like this is a move they will regret if Armon Watts doesn’t step up.
RIP Grillin and Chillin
We hate to see the dynamic duo of Pat Freiermuth and Zach Gentry break up. Gentry wasn’t an outstanding player in any area and so we get why the team released him. But there is something to be said for team chemistry.
Keeping Elijah Riley was smart
I didn’t think the Steelers would have the nerve to keep Elijah Riley and Chandon Sullivan but I’m glad they did. even if the Steelers plan to play Patrick Peterson inside, Riley will bring his energy to the special teams.
This team is really good
We are going to dig into these positional units for the rest of the week leading up to the start of the regular season but make no mistake, this team is full of new faces but it is really talented. The Steelers aren’t going to sneak up on anyone and I think they are just fine with that.
