In the past week, there have been reports circulating about the NFL's plan for the 2020 preseason. Initially, it was the league stating the preseason will be cut from four games to two games, but shortly after this news was announced, the NFLPA reminded everyone to pump the brakes. After a union meeting, the players unanimously voted to eliminate the preseason altogether. In lieu of the preseason, teams would go through a ramp up to Week 1 of the regular season.
While nothing has been made official between the NFL and NFLPA, if the preseason is cut in half, or cancelled, teams will not need to have 90 players on their offseason roster. No specific number has been released, but the reason for the robust number of players on the offseason roster is so teams don't have to play their starters extensively during the preseason.
Let's suggest the NFL tells teams they should trim their rosters to 75 players, what would this look like for the Steelers' roster? It would look a lot like when the league used to trim their rosters prior to Week 4 of the preseason, but there will be a ripple effect if, or when, this takes place.
Who stays and who goes will be a difficult decision for every organization. After all, these players were added for a reason, whether it be for depth, potential practice squad players or to add to their starting roster. There will be some players who will be easy to cut ties with, but this is where the ripple effect begins.
In the past, whenever the NFL would have cuts leading up to their official 53-man roster, it was always appropriate to tell fans they should hesitate before celebrating the latest installment of the Steelers. Why? Because there are always players who are discarded by other teams that the Steelers covet. A player who thinks they made the team could be cut shortly after if the team decides to sign a player who was cut from another team.
When you look at the Steelers' 90-man offseason roster, there are names you know which will be cut quickly, most likely a lot of undrafted rookie free agents, but the tough calls would be those second- and third-year players who have yet to develop. A player like Marcus Allen comes to mind. Allen has never found his role on the team and has spent time on the practice squad since being drafted out of Penn State.
What about the XFL players who were signed this offseason? Unlike an undrafted rookie, they have both experience and tape which could be valuable in a year with no physical offseason workouts. Would the Steelers dare release one of their six draft picks they selected in the 2020 NFL Draft?
In this exercise, I will assume teams will trim their rosters to 75 players. This means 15 players need to be released, and I will take a stab at predicting those 15 players.
PLAYERS RELEASED
QB J.T. Barrett
DE Josiah Coatney
OT Anthony Coyle
OT Christian DiLauro
WR Quadree Henderson
DE Dewayne Hendrix
WR Anthony Johnson
OL Jarron Jones
C John Keenoy
CB Alexander Myres
FB Spencer Nigh
DB James Pierre
TE Kevin Rader
DB Arrion Springs
DE Calvin Taylor
As you can see, there aren't many surprises on the list of players above. Maybe Barrett and Henderson would be controversial, but, ultimately, the Steelers wouldn't need to carry five quarterbacks or another return specialist on their roster with a limited, or eliminated, preseason.
Again, the NFL has not told teams they have to trim their rosters, but you could expect this move not just for football purposes, but also for the ability to space players better in locker rooms and in team facilities to keep everyone as healthy as possible.
As the NFL and NFLPA continue negotiations on their return to play protocol and training camp, we will have all the news right here for you at DKPittsburghSports.com.
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