3 surprise Steelers 2026 preseason roster cuts to watch out for before Week 1

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3 surprise Steelers 2026 preseason roster cuts to watch out for before Week 1

Tim Crean, ClutchPoints · ClutchPoints

Wed, Aug 19, 2026 ·

4 min read

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3 surprise Steelers 2026 preseason roster cuts to watch out for before Week 1 appeared first on ClutchPoints . Add ClutchPoints as a Preferred Source by clicking here .

The Pittsburgh Steelers are moving through training camp and rolling through the preseason. After crushing the Green Bay Packers 28-9, the Pittsburgh Steelers move on to face the New York Jets in preseason game No. 2. That means more looks at the Steelers roster, which has to be cut down to 53 players by opening day . With that in mind, here are the three surprise Steelers 2026 preseason roster cuts to watch out for before Week 1.

QB Mason Rudolph

This may be going out on a limb, but there is a math problem at the quarterback position, and only two potential solutions. The Steelers currently have four quarterbacks on the depth chart, and they won't keep more than three on the 53-man roster. So, for all you math majors out there, the only way to go from four to three is to cut one QB.

Pittsburgh is not cutting Aaron Rodgers , nor will they get rid of Drew Allar , whom the team used a third-round pick on in the 2026 NFL Draft . That means either Mason Rudolph or Will Howard has to go.

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The funny thing is, whether the signal-caller to leave the villa is Rudolph or Howard likely depends most on Allar.

If Allar continues to play as well as he did against the Packers—10-of-13 passing, 153 yards, two touchdowns, no interceptions—then Mike McCarthy may feel comfortable making him Rodgers' primary backup. If that's the case, then keeping Howard would make more sense because he has more upside.

Some of this may depend on Rodgers, too. He may want a more veteran presence in the room instead of two youngsters, so that may save Rudolph. That said, don't be shocked if Rudolph gets cut.

RB Eli Heidenreich

When the Steelers took Navy running back Eli Heidenreich at pick No. 230 in the seventh round, a lot of draft pundits heralded it as a steal. Heidenreich was a do-it-all back at Navy who can run, block, and catch passes out of the backfield. He is the type of hybrid player that the Steelers have had success with in the past, like Connor Heyward .

However, the Steelers also picked Indiana fullback Riley Nowakowski in the fifth round, then signed Miami running back Travis Homer . They added those players to a group that already included incumbent Jaylen Warren , offseason free agent signing Rico Dowdle , and 2025 third-round pick Kaleb Johnson .

With four running backs on the roster max, the numbers here are tight.

Warren and Dowdle are the two rotation backs, and Nowakowski is winning the fullback job outright. That leaves just one spot for Johnson, Heidenreich, and Homer. And the former Hurricane is looking like he will take that job. Maybe Heidenreich lands on the practice squad, but if the Steelers do cut him, look for another team to snap him up due to his unique skill set.

DL Dean Lowry

The Steelers' interior defensive line is another loaded position group, but veteran Dean Lowry was expected to make the final 53. He played in 12 games for Pittsburgh last season, starting one of them. And the veteran D-lineman has 132 games and 85 career starts on his resume over nine seasons.

Lowry would only be a deep rotational lineman, though, with Cam Heyward , Derrick Harmon,Yahya Black, Sebastian Joseph-Day , and Keeanu Benton in the mix. So, with that as his potential role, it's not shocking that the Steelers might go with a player who has more upside in that slot.

Sixth-round pick Gabe Rubio out of Notre Dame is having a good camp, and the 23-year-old has almost a decade of youth on his side vs. the 32-year-old Lowry. All this adds up to the fact that. Despite his contributions last season, Lowry is likely out, and Rubio is in.

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