The Terrible Podcast — Talking Steelers’ Moves, 53-Man Roster Predictions, Broderick Jones Comments

welcome to the terrible podcast with your host from Steelers depot.com where you can find all your latest and greatest Steelers news it's Dave briyan and Alex kazora always lit talking Steelers and now here's Dave and [Music] Alex welcome to the terrible podcast season 15 episode 13 He St Brian I'm Alex kazora Steelers depot.com thanks for being back with us this Wednesday Steelers Nation midweek as Pittsburgh gears up for their preseason finale Saturday on the road against the Detroit Lions but Dave lots to talk about today lots of roster moves you and I both have our new roster predictions and we hear from the coordinators heard from Mike Tomlin so plenty to discuss how you doing doing well I had to do some math this morning uh woke up got some coffee and had had to work on the spreadsheets uh with some math and play detective and uh first first world problems yeah check out that post at sunat all the injury settlements I think the Pittsburgh's been clearing their IR list and so if you want some some math some numbers some salary cap updated information uh check out that post from Dave all right we got definitely have some things to talk about today don't we should be an entertaining show at least I hope it is we do let's discuss here the news of yesterday Pittsburgh making a slew of roster moves unfortunately the most notable one is and this was kind of expected but offensive lineman guard Center Nate herig placed on IR according to Jerry duac who's been on top of the reporting over the last several days first indicating the injury was serious and then noting it was a torn rotator cuff this happened on the final day like the last hour of training camp during I think a one-on-one blocking drill uh for the offensive linan herck got hurt we reported that and now we know the extent of the injury it's going to cost herig the entire 2024 season he was placed on IR yesterday because he went to IR before the final cutdown date of August 27th he will not be eligible to return this year so that is the most notable news there of course Zach Frasier stepping into this lineup as this team starting center from here on out Pittsburgh also releasing veteran quarterback Anthony aett who got signed on a try out basis after rookie mini camp was on the offseason roster had a couple of moments during the summer but did not play well against Buffalo on Saturday they signed a pair of linebackers in Edge rusher Marcus Haynes and I already I already mentioned this one I think upall linebacker kava Tazo a former San Francisco 49er and was with the Birmingham stallions of the UFL earlier this year so bunch your roster moves talk about Dave yeah and obviously the most notable and unfortunate one is with uh Nate herbick there and you we kind of saw it trending that way based on a report by Jerry duac a few days ago and now his season's over with and that obviously as you stated not that it wasn't probably going to end up happening anyway but uh Zack Frasier uh now in the driver's seat to be the week one starter and the bigger question at this point is what's going to happen at the backup uh Center position moving forward from here you have uh oh boy you got who Ryan McCullum who's got quite a few got some experience and some time in the NFL on practice squads in a little bit in the regular season he has been the guy that's followed uh herbig uh or Frasier into the first two preseason games uh the only look the only three centers that have Ms in the preseason so far Nate herig Zack Frasier and Ryan McCullum and as we've talked quite a bit uh I think even in that last show G to be interesting to see if uh Spencer Anderson or Mason McCormack uh get some snaps at Center in this preseason finale the fact that the Steelers the these most recent moves did not include another Center at least for now uh leads you to believe that you know they going to going to work with what they have and you know obviously you can go on the outside at some point during final roster cutdowns and go that path if you needed to but it will be interesting at least we have a little bit of intrigue or something off of the radar to kind of watch in this last preseason game because I don't know how much Zack fras I would I would like to think that they were going to get Zack Frasier some snaps in this final preseason game I don't know if he's going to get 40 or something like he uh like he got in this last one but who follows him into the game and more importantly do we see Spencer Anderson or Mason mccormic get SNS there it's a great question something to watch for intently in this one molish you said is an obvious name to discuss from the standpoint of him having the center experience but I imagine and I have to believe one if not both but at least one of Anderson or McCormack will get work at Center in this finale Anderson played center a little bit in college played center some last year in training camp I believe you had five preseason snaps you had tweeted out today at Center last season had not done it at all in training camp this year besides doing some warm-up stuff very early in practices occasionally but did not do so in team Mason McCormack Pittsburgh worked him out as as a center right before the draft and maybe they would have viewed him as a center type of guy had they not drafted Zack Frasier had they missed out on the big three centers and needed a plan B maybe McCormack would have been their plan B he's primarily played guard though uh in in in Pittsburgh in training camp and of course was a guard at South Dakota state so if I had to guess right now who the favorite to be the backup is and it's open I'd say Anderson I think they're going to give him a look there he's a little more natural there than McCormick a little I think bendy at the play center than McCormick is but we'll wait and see and the uh while Spencer Anderson played something to the tune of 300 what do I have listed there 300 something snaps at Center in college at Maryland 3 382 uh something like that uh 301 of them came in 2021 right so a little while ago for Anderson right and obviously Mason McCormack barely played the position at all uh in in in in in college so that's something to watch so I don't want to spend too much time of it on it because it it'll come out in the wash but uh it does impact the way you look at 53 man roster predictions in the now right and Dave and I have our updated roster predictions will'll compare and contrast and go through here in just a little bit I think those were all the roster moves from that standpoint Pittsburgh did release a slew of players with injury settlements which is what Dave wrote about this morning most notably gryan Arnold who injured his C on the final day of training camp just like herig he went to IR the following day then now has officially been released in Pittsburgh releasing a couple other players with settlements as well and wide receiver Tariq black safety Nate meters cornerback kayn Barnes and is there one I'm missing I think there one I I think well we we got the f foko one I think didn't we cover that one but uh all told at this point right now uh one two three four five six seven I think eight players have received injury settlements this summer from uh from the team uh Keon Harris Luke baru Tyler Murray Braden foko Nate meters kin Barnes uh Tariq black and grayan Arnold and some of these totals like I open up the show with uh are starting to now finally hit the NFL paa public salary cap sheet the bad thing about it is they make you work to try to they don't tell you who those amounts go to and they don't tell you for how many weeks that that that they go to so you have to match what their split salaries were up and then take the the the total of what what the what the salary cap number shrunk by and try to play detective with it to my best guesstimation and I need to clarify that it is only a guesstimation here I think Keon Harris received a two- week injury settlement at 55,000 and I think Luke baru received a 1week uh injury settlement at 28,8 189 uh that would make the most sense because those two were the longest outstanding that had not hit the salary cap yet uh but there is some Intrigue in there as I wrote in that post because I'm trying to figure out how many credited seat reasons Kon Harris actually has because there's some uncertainty there because of him being terminated by the Falcons I think last year uh with with an injury settlement so was that injury settlement for three weeks or more and if so he got a credited season which would match the amount that I have uh listed for him with a settlement but nobody tunes into this for tunes into this show well maybe a few of you do God bless you nerds out there uh don't they don't tune into this show to talk about math and injury settlements the stuff that keeps Dave Brian up at night there oh and it does too I couldn't wait I got up I saw the I saw the numers shifted I ran down and got the coffee and I got I got to work man let me ask you the most nerdy question ever about this and I don't know if we either of us have an answer I don't but for these settlements do they get paid in a lump sum are they weekly based on the settlement agreement how does that work I do not not know the answer to that uh I would think that I mean you're talking about mostly most of these being sums of under under a 100,000 uh I would guess that it be these guys don't have any money you know most of these guys if you think about the the type of players that this happens to uh they're mostly you know guys that don't even have ACC credited season or barely have even played in the NFL so they're probably hard for a little bit of cash if you know what I mean uh but I mean there might be rules that or or or or you know stipulations that they do get paid out over x amount of week so the short answer is I don't know and I'm not gonna I'm not going to pretend to know and the settlement amount is based off their what their base salary would have been correct is that how they determined the weekly amount in the total figure yeah the way it works is most of these guys did end up going getting waved and waved injured and going IR they have what's called split uh split salary Clauses uh in in in in their contracts and if you pull up the NFL uh CBA and you go to near the near the back end of it there's tables in there of minimum salaries uh for for for standard pay for based on credited seasons and then there's another chart but based on minimum salaries that you can pay a player uh uh uh for their credited season on split salary amounts there so so most of these guys sign contracts with split salary Clauses meaning if they have to go to IR they go on a lesser amount and then when you work out an injury settlement with a player uh you negotiate well how many weeks is this would this guy Miss in a regular season uh and it's a negotiation process with an agent and all and then what you do is you take the split salary amount divide it by 18 because that's how many weeks pay weeks there are in NFL season and then you apply what the agreed to amount of the week settlement is and that's how you get your uh Your settlement amount now a lot of agents and their play and the players they represent will often times really try hard especially for these guys that don't have a lot of experience to get them at least three weeks injury settlement pay because that gives the player a credited season and thus should they latch on with the team and do much of anything they can get to either restricted free agency or unrestricted free agency earlier so okay uh that's all the behind the doors negotiation that goes on with that the more you know the more you know once again I know a lot that doesn't interest a lot of people but we try to be as thorough as possible and teach as much as possible and I like to learn as much as possible when it comes to this stuff and there is a lot that I don't know about this stuff yeah actually I wasn't entirely sure how the settlement process worked if it worked off of the original salary or the split salary so I learned something today myself so we're all better off for it all right Dave some other just small housekeeping here just a a minor point something that was going to you know inevitably happen but report that uh former Steelers minority owners Josh Harris and David Blitzer sold their uh stakes in the Pittsburgh Steelers and they did that because they bought were part of the group that bought the Washington commanders and nfo rules stipulates you can't own two teams and so while there was no big rush to unwind their entanglement with with Pittsburgh and their stakes in the team the commander sale was finalized you a while ago that officially pushed through and I don't know where those Stakes were sold to though that's a good question that is a good question got I know Thomas tall was trying to I think make a play to to buy some of those there was other interest elsewhere so I don't know if we know that information but the uh those shares have officially been sold as much as we like to think that we do know and as much research as we do know we get some great questions of things that we don't know and I don't know where those shares went to that news should come out at some point because there were stories talking about who was gonna buy them so I imagine somebody's gonna gonna talk here at some point all right I know we're in in super Weeds about not the most pressing issues so let's talk about here some of the the Here and Now coordinator speaking yesterday Dave Arthur Smith in trell Austin and just off the top it's funny the team provides a transcript of the interviews they're not they're not shown live and you get the uh former head coach field from Arthur Smith how long that transcript is compared to the Terrell Austin transcript of more tighter shorter answers from from coach Austin but let's start here with Arthur Smith and you know he talked he said he talked a lot I don't know how much he actually really said there were a couple of notable things that we talked about you know with this game Russell Wilson they were kind of running a more limited scheme in Playbook Wilson because Wilson this was his first game so kind of catching up on reps after missing the good chunk of training camp and so Fields was kind of had a had a more open playbook just because he had gotten more reps compared to Wilson uh the primary takeaway for for the good opening part of it is it's basically Arthur Smith saying relax right uh don't don't read too much into the pree season uh and let's see the the part about uh Russell Wilson was uh you know kind of obvious uh they were trying to do different things with him uh uh offensively and not do some things like you know put put stress on his calf I would suppose and roll him out you know they wanted to try to do stuff related more to him being in the pocket whereas with Justin Fields when he got into the game they were able to use full compliment of of of uh the abilities that he has uh some people are saying well does this mean that Russell Wilson isn't 100% healthy and if not why is he out there I don't think they would put him in the game if they thought there was a a huge fear of you know him not being 100% or or or risk of reinjuring that calf but on the flip side I think they just wanted to make that they were cautious with what they were asking him to do and try to keep him out of Harm's Way as much as possible even though he wound up on the on the ground a few times uh on on on top of it there so uh I think he gave a a good explanation uh as far as that goes and I don't know what other parts do you want to dig into here him on go ahead yeah just to to talk about it yeah Smith's point was the way the offense is played is not acceptable it's not to our standard he's not excusing it but he is acknowledging it is the preseason and that's important I'm not panicking over the state of the offense as bad as they've looked through the first two exhibition games I'm not going to assume that's you know guaranteed to happen and carry over into the regular season I'm not guaranteeing it's going to be much better I'm going in with a clean slate come week one uh so I'm not hitting the panic button despite the offensive struggles my concern is with bradick Jones and and the health of the tackles and that group overall that's really the only thing I'm concerned about right now but Smith did touch upon that point and talked about that he you know still has confidence in bradick Jones and that he's not running away from the fight and you know we'll get better and we'll play better yeah and the takeaway is that you know his play is not up to the standard right now you know uh he goes on to say well you know somebody's dealing with something maybe more than others if somebody's out there is medically cleared I don't look at it like that with bradrick Jones He is like I said any lineman whatever position whatever scheme if you get beat early that's the issue you could have put he could have said that walked away you know uh he says so with Lyman and that's the thing is we uh we can all see in the stands if you get get beat early and inside clearly that's a one-on-one but he's out there and he's going against a good player uh yada yada so uh you know the the big takeaway is is that collectively offensively it's not up to standard and I don't think we needed him telling us that no but the question is are you panicking or are you concerned about how the offense is looking do you think that's an indication of how this offense will look come the regular season not in totality no because they're they're a you know that they're they're not putting a lot out there as far as schematics goes it the thing more than anything to use the pre-season for is to look at individual uh performance right and as Smith said they were repeating some plays and just working on some Concepts we talked about that Monday where some of the read option type games some of the Run pass option type stuff they were doing so it was less about calling the perfect play more so as it was getting some reps in on some looks on some kind of Core Concepts and you're not helping yourself by false starts uh and then obviously in the first game the bad exchanges and then you know your tackles get beat early for sacks right well let's stick with broadrick Jones since we're talking about it Jones did meet with the media yesterday he declined to speak with reporters post game after playing Buffalo he said he had to talk to the doctors and Jones to his credit didn't make excuses didn't you know did did not try to pretend that he wasn't playing poorly he said he played poorly he's got to be better he's got to be more physical I thought the most notable takeaway though was somebody had asked him about you know is it the elbow is that what what you're dealing with and he said it's multiple things apparently and so he's indicating there is more than one injury than just the elbow yeah uh look he's not he's not uh wearing that brace on that right arm for to make a fashion statement right yeah somebody had asked him about that does it help you with your Technique I'm like it is the opposite of probably helping with his technique now he's saying the brace is no issue he said there was an adjustment early on maybe the brace is not not the issue but but it's indicative I think of what potentially could be an issue that he's dealing with some injury that is hampering his play because he has never looked this bad before right he was a mess on tape especially in this game now I think the issue you know specifically I did a video breakdown on this Ross mccor did a did an article breakdown go check those out but I I think it's really twofold a he's late with his hands he's late to shoot and Defenders are getting into his chest first and making that first Contact when Pat Meyer's whole rule is be aggressive if you lose it's probably because you weren't aggressive enough and making good bur significant contact that's the key phrase that Meer always harps on and then B I think what's happening is he's really erratic on his punch Jones is his hands are wide he's missing uh he's you know hands are outside and he's not creating good power on his punch and I don't care how athletic you are I don't care how well you move how well you redirect you can't use your hands well nothing else really matters so he's got to get back to being more technical keeping his hands tighter I did go back through his rookie year and and just kind of rewatching and I was looking for some specific things his punch was never the best last year it was better but I think he's got to really be more consistent with the strike um because I think he's it's been spotty throughout his CEO's career and to his credit he didn't blame it on sides you know left or or or right side it will be interesting now though in this uh preseason finale and I'm I'm going to assume he's going to play and I would imagine you would uh you you believe that as well uh is he going to get left tackle snaps yeah I mean he'll start at right tackle I assume because fanu is still out the question is will they kick him over and there's a decent chance of that I really can't say for sure how they're going to handle this thing I really want to see what happens when it comes to week one if vaanu is is healthy and starts as the reporting indicates and Fu spoke yesterday and said he believes he'll be ready to play week one didn't guarantee he'll start left that to coaches but then the decision becomes against brck Jones your first turn pick of a year ago the guy with the upside the talent but Dan Moore you know one for one is out playing brck Jones right now and they love Dan Moore and so I really want to see what direction they go and if if brri Jones is dealing with something something and if the the the the the issues continue in this preseason finale you know maybe it would be a good thing to sit him down for uh for the first couple of weeks of the Season let him rest that thing it might I I don't know if rest is secure my suspicion is that rest is not going to kind of fix at least some of the elements that he has right now that it may take something I'm just speculating but something Surgical and they don't want to do that now because all the time it would cost him they're trying to see if they can manage and get through it but the bottom line is you know it's got to be better technique and and while I'm as frustrated as anybody about the flip-flopping and this team not really putting Jones much of left tackle this Summer that is not his current problem it's not the reason why he was as ugly looking as he was against Buffalo right right me he just he's got to be better he knows it we know it everybody knows it yeah so that is the the story on rodri Jones and we'll watch for him against Detroit and uh should see some well I don't know if they're going to play Aidan Hutchinson in this game I don't know what Detroit's plan is but if they do play some starters we'll see if he gets some reps against Hutchinson what else from Arthur Smith was there anything else that was really notable to discuss uh just talked about hey the quarterback decision is not mine you know I'll have some input in it you know obviously but that's uh that's above his pay grade at this point right the perks of being the OC that is not my job someone else can make those tough decisions you just tell me who who I'm rolling with and I'll take it from there so that is the benefit of no longer being the head coach exactly all right flipping over to Terrell Austin what did he talk about I thought the most interesting comment was about the slot Corner position which Austin basically says somebody show up just somebody take the job and there's really not been anybody available to do that uh I don't know the exact phrasing of the question the transcript just says you know his comments on the slot Corner position I'm assuming somebody had asked him is it difficult to evaluate there is a difficult battle difficult choice to make and Austin says quote it's not hard because there's nobody there so I mean it's easy whoever shows up gets it that's about where we are right now and then goes on to say that's going to go down to the last second and see who's available I guess so not exactly the most confident sounding answer from Terrell Austin but it's true Arnold got hurt he's on IR he's done beanie Bishop had a minor injury he missed the Bills game valuable Reps for young guy uh it's been Thomas gramas the the one guy who's been healthy yeah look as we get into our roster predictions here the the most recent ones and all I mean and it this is a position group that we've talked about for most of the uh for a good part of the off season here and uh you've got you know you you you've had a long heck you remember just uh several weeks ago uh we were talking about uh who was the first one that got cut uh josi Scott yeah Josiah Scott I mean we've they they've gone through a you know they've had a a list of guys stand up and you think we're all going to battle for that but uh uh either they've been cut or in the case of gryan Arnold got uh got in injured and now you're down to just a just a couple of those guys and it it it even makes you wonder even more this team might go on the outside yeah I've talked about the needed outside corner to add somebody I still believe that's true but I think slot Corner becomes you know more likely by the day based on just the lack of information lack of evaluation with these guys now if Bop has a really good game against Detroit then that maybe will make this team more comfortable and Graham has made some plays and Austin's talked to him up but I think the pro scouting Department Sheldon white and those guys will be watching secondaries around the NFL pretty closely absolutely uh good uh some obviously nice praise from Terrell Austin on Nick herck says Herby yeah he's making a really nice jump he's had a really good camp he's explosive loves ball all the good things that you want in a football player and he's come he's continuing to develop and so I like what he's doing uh he says what is the biggest difference that seen so far with Nick Herby he said I think a lot of times most guys grow a lot between their first and second year because think about him last year his uh uh his transfer from you know to the NFL the combine all the different things he's doing he's just going going going now he's had a chance to be able to develop understand what's going on around him and that's where guys and that's why guys make the biggest jump he's doing that which he ain't going to get any argument out of me uh on on on on that one there uh what else did he talk about de Marvin Lea was asked about de Marvin Lea he says uh he's had a heck of a camp he's probably in the best shape he's been in since we drafted him he can he can play he he could play inside he could play outside he's that athletic I don't want to jinx anybody especially him but he's done a heck of a job and if we need him to play outside linebacker he absolutely could and he played a ton against Buffalo When lines got shorter played more against Buffalo than he did versus Houston when that Houston game was kind of the talk about him playing outside linebacker and and barely saw time there so it seems like Lea is going to become just kind of a jack of all traits I don't think he's ever going to be and the team doesn't Envision him to be the every down starting defensive lineman for the Pittsburgh Steelers 275 pounds you're not going to be a base end he's gotten some work there this summer but not going to see a ton of time once regular season action begins so it's kind of more a little bit of this a little bit of that a little bit of package interior work can stand up you know wear a couple different hats um but that's kind of the direction it seems like Lea's going to go to to salvage his career yeah that I would agree with you on that you know he is a lot lighter than the rest of those guys on that line I had been impressed by his pass rush I think technically he's better I had a clip of him with a really good swim move overright tackle against Buffalo and in my my thoughts on him last year was that he could use his hands to shed blocks in the Run game but in the p he would get locked up so often really had no moves had no technique and I've seen Improvement there so that's been encouraging to see you're seeing you know technique match the natural athleticism that he has and that actually starts creating a bit of movement as a pass rusher yeah look he's uh he's shown some nice uh pass rush stuff this summer for sure yeah so I've been happy with that Improvement I mean how we'll talk about it more with the rosters but how close to putting his name in pen on this 53 are you right now now well I have I I in pin I'm not there I'm not there yet but I like his odds yeah me too he's certainly trending in the right direction down the stret would it shock you if he would if he did I guess that's the question would it shock you if he doesn't make the 53 in in in in the state that it is right now I would be surprised you would your mouth would hit the floor well I said surprised not necessarily shocked I think I'm one run below shocked but I would be based on the way that he's played based on the way they've talked about him based on the summer that he's had the versatility at the end of the roster I'd be surprised not shocked but surprised okay all right all right anything else from the coordinators I think we kind of covered the uh the main topics there uh Dave anything else from from those guys let's see here no I think we hit on that how about some Mike Tomlin stuff here and His short presser we'll get more from from him on Thursday when he meets the media uh talked about Mason McCormick he's a guy that's versatile we've got a lot of guys that are versatile he goes on to name Spencer Anderson as versatile as well he's done some of that the past and so we feel really comfortable about our multi-positional flexibility there that rolls back to what we uh started with the top of this show you know are we going to see some of that flexibility at the center position in this uh preseason finale uh he was asked about Zack Frasier is what has impressed him about Zack Frasier so far he says really I don't know that any of it has been surprising just the close proximity of Morgan to morgant toown and relationships that we have there he is as advertised he's M mature Beyond his football years he's highly competitive he's a uh he's got really good leverage obviously there's a lot of growth ahead of him but he's got a little time to do that so we'll just keep working day by day uh he was asked about the third preseason game in the quarterback uh rotation he says I'll talk to you guys Thursday after practice and get into that uh asked about broer Jones how he responded to the film from Saturday night he says he thinks the next performance is an indication of that it's a process in terms of getting better you play you evaluate and you analyze you acknowledge you make another plan to get ready for the next opportunity but ultimately responses are gauged by the next performance that's a very Mike Tomlin answer uh as was the next one uh brri Jones has a brace uh has it been affecting him at all Tomlin was asked and Mike Tomlin said we're not looking for excuses survey says ding ding uh let's see jayen Warren jayen Warren Jaylen Warren he says uh who's obviously dealing with a hamstring injury right now uh Mike Thomas says he's out probably out for this week but not anything that a long-term concern and I think that's probably about the G of it and that's big on Warren that's an optimistic tone for his week one availability NFL Network a couple days ago said that Warren would be out multiple weeks and his status for week one was basically in question maybe not in doubt but up in the air Tomlin hamstrings are tricky and they can take some time depending on severity it can be as short as a week tyon Johnson that had a hammy and came back within a week they going be 2 three plus so sounding better on Warren but we'll have to wait and see I guess the best thing out of all of this if there is a best thing at all is it happened in the second preseason game and not the last one very very true because it gives you that extra week there right and there's that uh extra you know where the old fourth preseason game was at you get like two weeks and you got what two and a half weeks to really recover three weeks to recover here and so uh that's going to give Warren a decent chance to to to make it back for Atlanta can I also just say going back to McCormack going through his tape I was like 1: a.m. I just wanted to put watch his reps man I am so impressed by Mason McCormack I came into Camp kind of skeptical you got a small school guy a rookie and Pat Meer system playing guard it could be a tough transition and I've seen veterans struggle to kind of get the pass sets down and feel comfortable with their their technique and McCormack has just been Aces I mean he's looks so comfortable yeah refitting his hands those on body off body sets his his sets have been really strong he's got great grip strength Bas yeah his b he's got good knee Bend and pass protection he can move people in the Run game he's got active eyes he's a little tall maybe as a run blocker working on pad level KN been there a little bit but like this guy has just been good to go and I did not expect that in kudos to him yeah probably not the not the best cood change of Direction overall but he can get moving and get out in space too uh for for a guy his side so uh excited to see look he ought to get a lot of playing time in this again in this uh in this preseason finale and you know once again how much of that's going to be at centers uh uh he still does that skip pull too doesn't he he I've only seen him pulled once and that was in the opener but that was the skip pull which is interesting yeah because Pittsburgh and most of the NFL uses the square pull while you're turning your shoulders then pulling think about the old ways that FICA or David a Castro would pull uh the skip poll is where your uh feet don't turn where your shoulders stay downfield um and that's what he did in college and so I I don't know if they just kind of thought we're changing your Technique so much Mason keep the skip pool for now instead of trying to change one more thing about your Technique but uh yeah that is something I noticed on tape was that he's still using the skip pool all right anything else from the coordinators or Mike Tomlin no that should be about it the players speaking a lot of o line talk yesterday mentioned BR Jones speaking faru speaking Zack Frasier speaking players speaking about Zack Frasier and the general consensus from Arthur Smith even who called him the most prep rookie that he seen I I don't know if that was saying for this class or in general but point is I think everyone has full confidence in Frasier to be next man up and really it's probably unfair to call him next man up he was next man in a waiting even if he had you know herig had stayed healthy we knew that frasia would be a starter sooner or later so this may be accelerating that process a little bit but Frasier was going to be the guy at some point and I think everyone is confident you know for him to be the guy week one right and you know as we state every year when we get you get going in training camp you know these things have a funny way of working themselves out through the wash and that's what's happened here what what is the best thing you've seen from Zack Frasier so far pass protection in terms of just like solid base or yeah just I and refitting the hands which you would expect with a wrestling background and all like that I mean I look I think he's been good very good uh in on on some running plays I think some of his angles uh in look that number 44 like we stated I maybe I don't care how you know that that guy was wrecking things and obviously not all of it on on on Zack Frasier but there were a few angles I think in a couple of run plays uh short area angles that he could have done uh better on but in in in other instances in in totality in these first two season first pre first two preseason games you you see that ability to to to to get those reach blocks and and and uh those quick turns back to the inside and just you can see some of that wrestling uh uh background uh in him in the tape and short area in in in foam Booth like situations and obviously man if he gets if he gets locked on to you moving forward uh from the line of scrimmage you're going to probably end up on your back yeah I I've really been impressed by by like you said his technique his hand use I think some of the snap he shown off the ball some of that initial burst he's not going to be the most athletic guy in space but he's really quick off the football and that's going to create some torque and some power and a lot of things that we were not privy privy to to to Boom mics or anything like that but I mean so far you know he's gotten some praise as far as the line calls that he's making and and you know as far as calling out you know you and that'll be an interesting question maybe when we get to the start of the Season how much of that goes on him you know uh or or or they you know they let the quarterback you know call to protections and stuff like that but remember this is a guy that played a lot of snaps at Center I mean comes out of the you know in this draft class as the most experien you know experience C true Center there so this is not new to him uh overall all so it it it it would be easy to speculate that he he should be up and running with with knowing what he's seeing and and doing with these line calls and that would match some of the praise that he's getting yeah that's interesting I don't know exactly how it works in Pittsburgh I think the quarterback has handled a lot of that with some of the veteran guys they've had over the years although I know Justin Fields had told reporters last week or I think late last week that you know he Frasier would make some calls before Fields would even make some calls and so maybe it's kind of a shared thing where Frasier sees something he can help out but you know I imagine Russell Wilson will be able to to handle a lot of that for week one especially start of the Season till he gets more comfortable here yeah I think over time you give you know more and more on his plate but two two tough matchups to start the year on the road uh we have to use silent counts I don't know how you know we'll have to approach that Atlanta can be some friendly territory for Pittsburgh but uh yeah it's I'm I'm confident in Frasier in terms of making the calls and and being clean procedurally he's shown to be really consistent there from what I've seen from from camp start to right now the arrow is pointing up well said there Dave all right anything else from The Players yesterday again a lot of oine talk fanu um you know regretted obviously not that it's not his fault obviously but you missing all that time in the preseason and not getting those reps but just ready to take mental reps and get healthy follow the trainers and be good for week one I think he also stated that the injury to the knee happen been sometime what late in the first quarter so he played another uh full quarter so to speak or at least until CU I I believe uh I believe there's what was there like six minutes left or seven minutes when that drive when that final drive of the steers had uh in the first half of that first preseason game ended but anyway did you get a chance to roll back to maybe retrack down when that injury happened not that it matters I didn't no I didn't go back it just it is what it it is what it is at this point and it's MCO sprain luckily it's not more severe and they're he seems to be trending towards being healthy for week one the main takeaway here is that we're not expecting him to play in this finale right right right the takeaway is that's a pretty tough SOB to spray his MCL and not even tell the training staff and he apparently want a brace yeah he didn't want he didn't want to come out he just wanted to scrap on a brace and go out there and keep playing I think he said like he's worked so hard to get to this point you don't want to bow out unless you have to so they had to basically drag him off the field to uh take him out all right all right Dave let's go through our roster predictions now I had mine up earlier this week you have yours up on the site right now for people to check out so our post Bills game you only have one more of these after this cutdown Tate is right around the corner yeah uh yeah it got here quick and uh we have one more after this which will be our final one right right so let let's go through and compare and contrast both of our rosters have changes since our last Edition post Tex did you have more than me or because I had I think you had more than me in terms of changes I think I had let me see here uh one two three four five players are no longer in the last prediction that I had okay I didn't track how many changes I made I want to say it was fewer but we'll see all right quarterback though no changes for either of us and I don't expect any changes to happen for our final Edition barring something dramatic and probably bad for the Steelers and Russell Wilson Justin fields and Kyle Allen only question is will Pittsburgh go with the more Modern Trend to keep two quarterbacks I find that to be unlikely yeah history tells you that it's unlikely to happen it's not unpossible as they say but I'm going with the trend that they're keeping three and just making Kyle Allen the emergency inactive on game days and I think they like Kyle Allen and especially with that experience he has in that number three role no changes at running back either for either of us and niji Harris Jaylen Warren and Cordo Patterson Warren's injury May complicate things a little bit on the Outlook but I think if they had to add another running back it would come to a practice squad elevation more so than keeping somebody on the 53 I agree sir uh let's see what do we have next here you're at neither of us keeping a true fullback let's go to wide receivers next and we both have some changes here and Dave you have an insert fart sound maybe the first insert fart sound in a roster prediction in Steelers Depot history can you explain the the flatulence yeah it's uh Bren iuk flatulence if you will uh obviously playing around with it last time I took a shot put Brandon iuk in my last 53 man roster prediction as I fell for believing that maybe he would be traded from the 49ers to the Steelers last week that obviously doesn't happen we still don't know what's going to happen with Brandon iuk it seems to change daily although for the first time in several several days there was no update on Brandon iuk on the NFL Insiders on NFL network uh however I know Schultz has something out you know who who knows but it would been foolish to go back to back uh heck it was foolish to to to do it last time to insert him in there but I thought I'd have a little bit of fun with it uh overall but I got a little bit more serious this time Brandon auk's not on the Steelers roster right now so I'm not going to put him in my 53 man roster prediction and so thus that's that's a change there I still am only keeping five wide receivers in total uh George Pickins van Jefferson Calvin Austin the third Roman Wilson and Dez Fitzpatrick uh I really if you go through the tape and I think you got a A Clip or two or post dedicated to Dez Fitzpatrick after this game uh for starters man it's trending that he's going to be at least one of these Gunners I mean and that that's a question that we had going into this thing this offseason anyway is what are these Gunners going to look like uh this season for this team and not that Dez Fitzpatrick has uh blown blown out the tape when it comes to his Gunner ability but he he's done a fair decent job at it he's been out there quite a bit and then you roll that into the way he played offensively uh in this game against the bills did a couple of nice things uh as as far that sideline catch off the the kind of the tip ball uh the route on kind of that levels concept that we talked about the other day and I I think I stated this to you in the last podcast as well too he showed up in the blocking Department didn't he yeah he blocked his butt off on some of those crunch plays and toss plays I mean he was running his feet and listen all these receivers to the credit under Arthur Smith and Zach Isani are blocking like crazy I mean they did not block like this last year they are getting after it because they have to otherwise you will not get the play if you don't block and put forth that effort so uh like you I did put this it's Patrick on my 53 as well I'm keeping six I surprised myself I've been going five I didn't think the receiver room was strong enough to warrant keeping six but I got Pickins Jefferson Wilson Austin I'm keeping Scotty Miller still and I put that Fitzpatrick on Fitzpatrick is not look great as a gunner but like you said they got two open spots I I don't know I barely know who the second Gunner is going to be let alone who would be the first if he didn't have Fitzpatrick as one of those two guys he did have a good tackle on Kick coverage so I'm going to give him the nod to kind of play that you know quasi not as strong as him but miles Boyen type role uh if I were to keep six uh Scotty Miller obviously would have been my six sure sure um why why have Miller off though I'm just just curious not that it's a it's a numbers game Alex you okay fair fair I I think they like Scotty Miller though I think he's got versatility experience little Arthur Smith history there sure he was he he was he was he was my last cut per se I guess you could say number 54 all right let's go tight ends and we have a difference here as we're both kind of conflicted on that fourth spot both keeping Pat fry Thell Washington and Conor Hayward I'm sticking with Michael puit and you're going with hot rod Rodney Williams I'm playing the flip-flop game here I'm having a hard time figuring this out this thing out uh Mel puit obviously the better Blocker of the two I think we both can agree on that uh as far as passing game contributions I don't you know uh hope we don't get into a situation where this team needs to use either one of them a lot the passing game uh Rodney Williams is a better special teamer and I don't think I'll get much push out of you out of that uh now you know it it comes down to it this is going to be in my opinion A Danny Smith decision personally well yes I mean it's my I'm cutting you off go ahead I'm sorry I I just think I I think Danny Smith's gonna have a lot of lot of say in this yeah I agree I mean Danny Smith would say he has input it's a Mike tomin decision but certainly what Danny Smith says will will way into the to the impact of the decision this team makes and Rodney I think is logging more special teams than Michael puit he is I think he's doubling his snap counter at least did so against Buffalo but pu's playing crazy more offensive snaps and I think puit no you typically think number four tight end wouldn't play but in this Smith System I think pu would get snaps especially because fryou is going to split out a bunch and hayward's not an inline why and so I think AIT could actually have offensive value that would give a number four tight end some worth in Pittsburgh you know construction of their offense uh and it's hard to get past the fact that you know puit has a long history with Arthur Smith yeah I mean those two guys have been together for how long now it's the Tennessee days early early on back then um this one's still tight it's still tight it's tough It's very tough and and and I don't I mean I could very easily flip back to Michael puit in this next one and and I'm mad at you because the question you asked me Monday either on the Pod or on our live stream is still in my head who's the other wing on the punt team like deshun Elliott should be one I was thinking who's going to be the other guy if it's not Rodney Williams and I don't know the answer to that because it might be Rodney Williams right uh I mean who who would it be I mean especially if let's say Mark Robinson's on the line uh have we SE I don't think we've seen have we seen like a guy like Ryan Watts over there or anything uh I I think they've Gunner work yeah uh they've had like ketto Elliot Williams I think puit has a line there in Camp but puit can't run down punts a 32-year-old tight end trying to chase down punts is not a great idea uh they've had they've had Chiron Johnson on the line on the punt team haven't they yeah I mean they've had their front line is typically a bunch of linebackers also Conor Hayward it's like it's like Mark Rob it's it's Payton Wilson it's Connor Hayward it's met kevich could you maybe pull one of those guys off and and have them be the wing and replace them on the line with another linebacker and that's I'm going but you would see it in a preseason game you would think you would think although sometimes they do things sometimes listen they had John Rice plumbley doing personal protector stuff they never did in training camp they've had kick returners go back there that hadn't done it before trell Watson years back so you know you got a couple weeks to practice this stuff too after cutdowns before week one begins so you got some flexibility there I think right uh but I mean you understand the predicament I'm in then right yeah I mean I I've called this thing tight we've all called it I think you know real close battle um the whole way through I bet you Williams is so mad he missed that tackle on that that punt like I saw him pound his fist in the ground that was like if you make that tackle almost in the end zone that's like a roster spot oh that's a good point that's a great point because he had him too he had him right rights to left and and that might have even been in the end zone or if not easily at the at the at the one yard line Bears so super super close because he makes that I think the the conversation shifts a little bit in the eyes of the team right now all right let's go offensive line and we had so much back and forth last time about this but this one I think it's really interesting from you we're both keeping the same uh initial eight here in James Daniels Isaac SE Maldo brck Jones Troy fog tonu Zack Frasier Dan Moore Mason McCormack Spencer Anderson we're both aligned there our ninth is different I'm keeping Dylan cook still you're keeping Ryan McCullum so you're kind of putting your claim I'm assuming in McCullum becoming the the backup center until I see more until I see more that's what that's you know the reason that we started to show that the way we did talking about the center position there was uh I need I need to see somebody else step up and and who that player might be and how they might play you know because Ryan McCollum is the most experienced uh uh remaining backup center on this roster right now and uh although and he does obviously have uh uh guard experience as well too he's a master of uh I mean he he he's a jack of many positions interior but he's a master of none of them uh and that's where the concern is is okay I mean you know just because you stand in a garage doesn't make you a car you know but the fact is he's the most experienced at that so I am willing to be flexible here uh but I want to see I want to see more of it I want I want to see other people play play the center position in this finale so I have to go with what I've seen so far uh you know more so in projection especially when you look at the other other guys that you know could could Po and look this very well could be end up being an outsider you know and it's hard it's obviously hard to put a name in and and and predict of who that might be right that's a total guess at that point I I to to mccullum's credit I thought he played well in his snaps against Buffalo thought he his gript strength was good technically he was sound and you would expect the veteran like Kim he's got 100 NFL snaps to look a little better than some of the other third teamers he was with and probably going against but I thought McCollum played well against Buffalo yeah I mean I thought he he did okay but once again you know you you're going off of what you know about a player now for for a few years now sure so I think it's prudent I think that that's that's fine and if we see a bunch of Anderson at Center in this finale and he looks good then maybe you things will change I'm I'm still sticking with cook though because a McCollum just to me has never had the talent to really get and stick on the 53 I think they will end up using Anderson I'm kind of projecting out they're going to use Anderson and he'll look confident enough enough in this one and like the upside on cook versus The Limited ceiling for mullum it's still hard for me to to cut a guy like Dylan Koke even though I don't think he's had this the great summer that I thought he might have going in the camp I I mean obviously when when I roll back and look at my notes and and comp compared him to this year when it comes to Dylan cook specifically I mean I I I don't think he's done a lot that's really stood out like he did uh last year and we we also only see him as a one position player uh this summer as well too in the preseason now obviously injuries could play know playing a part in that and uh probably have and all like that because remember he did log some guard snaps I think last year during the preseason but I I think overall his play last preseason was has was better than this one I agree but I also have the thought is it just kind of an expectations thing because cook was such an unknown to us and the watch him was kind of new and and refreshing and I don't think he's been bad like what has he done wrong this year I don't think he's really shown anything bad is it just you know have we come to expect him to play at this level and so we're not as impressed by it it's kind of a thought in my head right now okay well I mean once again I that maybe we'll learn more about this in the uh final preseason game but but uh it's just hard for me at this moment till I see more out of Anderson and or McCormick at the center position what if need what what if I mean what if Anderson is the only one that gets in there and plays like somebody's you know how many snaps of McCullum gonna get at Center in this game if if if will they take the there's so many unknowns you know because a you you would think that they know all they need to know about McCollum right now right right I don't it's not a lot more to learn about him at this point two and a half years so do you bypass him in this game after Frasier comes out to make sure to give Anderson and McCullum longer looks because you can't dictate how how many possessions you get in games you know and you probably want to see those guys against at least second teamers uh as well talking about Anderson and or mullum M M McCormick right right yeah I if I'm Pittsburgh I'm not GNA play not going to play Frasier much in this game I'll play him for a little bit assuming that Russell Wilson and the ones play some I'll kind of put Frasier out there for that group but I want to see lot of Anderson in this game and hopefully they're getting work in practice to get the reps with Justin fields or you know Kyle Allen and make sure those guys are getting time together because I don't need to see much out of Frasier I've learned a ton about him he's a starter clearcut there McCullum I know about him don't need a lot of snaps there either I want to get just reps in there for Anderson to really evaluate what he can do to make the best decision on on who my backup center will and won't be the the true winner with this offensive line group throughout the summer has been Spencer Anderson 100% Going back from SE M's five rest days to gave Anderson a bunch of extra time to double up on first team and second team reps to the unfortunate injury for herbig but that really I think lockt in Anderson his own positive play he's a guy that was that 10th offensive lineman maybe right on right outside the bubble entering Camp to me he is squarely on this roster now right and you know probably going to see him I don't know if you might you might see a little bit more at right tackle in this finale as well too yeah although I really want to play center like he's got to they gotta play they got to play one of Anderson or M what if they don't play either at center it's just that tells you something yeah uh that will tell you either E I mean a they're either going with mullum or they're gonna look for the outside right 100 per. all right defensive line here uh I'm keeping seven you're keeping six I'm keeping cam Hayward Larry oen Joby Dean low Isaiah Lok de Mar Leal Keon Benton montravius Adams you're keeping those names except for Lok who you're cutting over Leal and Lowry yeah this is ended up being a numbers game trying to decide between line defensive lineman and total amount of cornerbacks uh the both these position groups are fluid I think as far as numbers go uh what you know it's time for Isaiah laudermilk to meet the two Bobs what do you do here here do you have the same conversation about Dean Lowry though I think you mentioned that even in your in your analysis yeah I just I question is he is he a lock and most would would obviously suggest he would signed to a two-year deal but obviously not a lot of dead money associated with that if you had to get out of him uh uh you know cut him but uh I'll say this I will have my eye on Dean Lowry in this finale yeah how many snaps did he play against Buffalo his the first game action out there it's good to get him out there played okay uh let me see if I can pull that up I don't have take me just a moment here it was getting I think some some base end base Left End work there louder MO is kind of more your base right end it's how they've been defining roles and he played 18 18 defensive snaps yeah yeah I this one I've mentioned it before Lowry and Lou Mo to me are redundant they're the same dude Low's just a bit older with a little more NFL experience it feels repetitive to keep both but Pittsburgh does value their their run defense so this one's still tough right I'm keeping all seven it's rare but they kept seven last year leal's to me played it way on the roster and I think you want to have a good collection of defensive lineman if you had an injury you had some some guys to filter in behind I think my change in this position group was out goes Lou milk in comes Lea because I don't think I had Lea in my last okay quick sidebar I'm just reading a graphic here I'm not hearing the interview but Ray F aalo was on the fan this morning and uh this is just the the graphic so again you I can't say the context for sure but apparently falo thinks Roman Wilson could start the year on IR which would be surprising to me for because I think Wilson's making enough progress to avoid IR okay well I mean that's uh that would open up a spot for Scotty Miller then so something to watch there so not sure how much I buy again I don't know the exact full comments from falo but notable none the same yeah uh and look are do we we don't maybe Mike tommen Will shed some light on this we'll probably get the we leave the the the the uh the light on for him did you see him in any of the practices practice photos yesterday was it even reported whether or not is he still sideline or is he good question I didn't didn't look didn't think to look but I feel like had he been practicing somebody would have caught that right uh that's a good point and if he did not practice you know look you would like to have him a nice full week of practice if he's going to play in this game I guess I mean it's not there's no rules that says he can't but if he doesn't obviously if he doesn't play in this preseason finale uh you really have to qu question you know you know Not only would he not suit up for week one but might they take the path and put him on IR yeah I could see him you know not suiting up week one but IR you know be up the first months seems to be a little extreme for an ankle spraining that took place like two and a half weeks ago to miss six seven weeks for an ankle spraining I don't know feels a little he may be inactive to start the year but IR feels a little unless something happened because the reporting was he was getting close to a return so just something to watch and we'll we'll dive into that some more right and obviously you can put two players on that final move final cut down on IR as designated to return without them going on the 53 initially in the whole yo-yo which is a welcome and smart change for the NFL all right back to our roster predictions here inside linebacker we're uh aligned here Dave with the same five Patrick Queen Alon Roberts Payton Wilson Tyler mavich and Mark Robinson to me Robinson cemented his spot with a really good game against buff and he he we needed that's that's the type of games uh that that we need to see in preseason out of Mark Robinson as well too he was all over the place on defense and specifically special teams and your inside linebackers are usually beyond your starter special teams guys and you obviously have some in PT Wilson and Tyler mavage and it's hard at this point now especially with Cole hul likely heading for Reserve pup in a couple of weeks uh for them to keep five at the position group and for Mark Robinson to be the fifth yep I'm with you outside linebacker I have made a change here I'm with you now Dave keeping the same for and TJ watt Alex heith Nick herbick and I'm going with Kiron Johnson over Jeremiah Moon and you are as well yeah I've uh what what did this conversation end up being at the start of of all this and even stemming all the way back to late last season when they claimed Jeremiah moon off waivers from the Ravens you thought okay this you know that that guy looked like it you know got a very good shot to be the fourth outside linebacker uh but I I will caution that in my annual uh 9 uh 90 and 30 series and all I said a lot of people don't remember that Kiron Johnson was on this team for a good portion of last season and mainly due to his special teams ability I think he only played like one defensive snap last season but uh this preseason we've seen Kiron Johnson be able to make plays on defense mainly as a pass rusher but I think he's represented self well against the run as well too uh he's outplayed Jeremiah moon on on the defensive side the football and on special teams and the big red flag here circles back to what we noted in our recap of the game second preseason game Jeremiah Moon only played five preseason snaps in that game and Johnson played like 41 and seven more on special teams now Moon did play like I don't know five six seven special team snaps will they flip M might they just wanted to have given kir this the second one be the Chiron Johnson game the third one be the Jeremiah Moon game and then you know in other words give Jeremiah Moon every opportunity to show that he belongs on this roster I don't know the answer to that we'll find out in a few more days here but from what the tape and all and the snaps and all like that say right now this is Chiron Johnson's job right now as we stand here on this Wednesday and that's why I went with J Johnson over moon for my latest prediction I want to see how the snap counts go I think they could could be flipped where Moon plays a bunch in the finale and Johnson doesn't to compare and contrast over a full game but if it's not and that really tells you something I'm just going through my notes on who was on the starting units on special teams against Buffalo neither started on the kick return unit neither started on the punt coverage Team Johnson started on the hunt return team I don't have the kick coverage ones written down for some reason I don't know if he started there or not so it's interesting that really for for the most part neither guy was getting starting snaps but as you said Johnson had more overall special team snaps than moon is it Unthinkable that this team goes outside at this point to to uh for a for a edge slash higher quality special teamer that would be surprising to me I think you've seen enough good from both guys and the resumés too have enough there that gives you confidence to pick one of them and the other probably goes to the practice squads if you really hate the job the first guy does you can swap out you know it's probably better for the quarterback conversation could they go out and get an outside guy to be a gunner because I still have no confidence in like having a stand out Gunner on this team right now could they go get somebody a corner a receiver whoever to to that's just a really good Gunner I think so yeah look I mean because I really as as we stated with Dez Fitzpatrick he's the only one that really seems like at least has an inside shot at one of those two positions what happens if miles boyin gets cut that's a great qu I was thinking about that James Pierre could you bring Pierre back uh it's some outside corner depth although I don't think that's ideal um but I me I think if boyin gets what's is he is he projected to make see with the Giants right now is he projected to make that room you have any idea I don't have an idea I can look at the giant depth chart uh I mean because I don't think like Fitzpatrick had a good tackle on Kick coverage uh good contain and and at the 22 but he has not made a play as a Gunner and he got beat up a couple times there was one rep where he got that double ice or that Vice I should say and he got put in the ground and they were just toying with him and it was just you know he follow it it sucks but uh he is not thought Watts had a little more of an impact as a Gunner he got a block in the back call had a good good defeat of a couple of blocks so I mean I think think Patrick has the experience and it's kind of gotten the Reps but I don't know if the play has been tremendous in that capacity I'm looking I'm looking at ourlads in the uh uh Giants depth chart and they have boen as a let's see they let's look at our wide receivers Malik neighbors Jaylen Hyatt wendelle Robinson and then Darius Slayton Isaiah McKenzie and miles boyin are all listed as second teamers until tell you one one one person who ain't going to make that roster is Allan Robinson yeah forgot they have all the X Steelers Gunners there too he's got an injury right now could Gunner's injury open the door for boyin to make it I'm looking at one roster prediction it's just one random one but they have boyin making the team so that's name if boy's out there bring him back for sure he's better than qu Patrick I'll take boyin back in a heartbeat yeah I think that might be a name to watch all right I got a Sidetrack there so those are our linebackers still aligned on that cornerbacks I have some changes here with my little fourman group last time you got some some new names here and it's uh still probably looking a little weak overall I have Joey Porter Jr Dante Jackson Cory TR Jr beanie bishop and Thomas Graham Junior those five you're going with six you're going with Porter Jackson tce Bishop Graham and Darius rush I guess the bigger question is why are you leaving Darius rush off hasn't impressed me enough in the summer he was starting Camp as a second team outside corner and he lost some reps they like Tri more there's dying potential with him a little more upside I think and Rush has not gotten the Special Teams Gunner work he's gotten some work as a gunner at least against Houston I don't see the role I think they want to get a vet in there I still think even under my construction they would be open adding a veteran outside corner look you get past Joey Porter Jr and Dante Jackson here in this group and I don't care if you keep five six or seven uh there's a lot of questions here it's not good when you go past the first two and you're like all right we got questions in this in this maybe 1973 past your first two you can work with in this day and age a little tougher look I I I struggled with this I struggled with five or six and because even if you keep five it's you know once again once you get past the top two and then you none of them none of them have proven to be great special teamers yet although you know Beanie beanie didn't miss miss a game but he's under sight he's a physical guy but do you really want a guy like that logging a ton of special team snaps might not be a way around it but uh I'm good with that uh and then you know Thomas Graham Jr is on my 53 just because he's one of the last men standing here as a backup slot same yeah it's it's hard there's not a lot of confidence being instilled when you're writing some of these names down once you get past like you said Porter and and Jackson even like what is tri's game day value if he makes the team uh he's not really gotten a lot of special teams work like field goal block he's gotten a little bit of Gunner Jammer but not a ton there and you know do you want him to be next man out to have to go play Corner if you lost one of those those starters for for half a game if there was a position group other than wide receiver and we've said this all off SE season that's primed for an outside Edition uh I look I put this at the end I I I I will be surprised if the six that I have here are the six they they that's well said and maybe not just could you bring in two outside editions a slot and an outside I mean that's possible now Bishop plays a great game against Detroit you'll feel better but it's it's still a pretty young it's a really young secondary behind your starters even Porter obviously second year guy I mean Corey T Jr how many NFL snaps does he have regular season zero how many does Darius Rush have not a lot 40 something uh beanie Bishop Jr zero Thomas Graham Jr has had a cup of coffee that's about it right how many defensive snaps he's gotten he's got a couple of games under his belt I don't know what the special team split was I'll look it up here really quick on Graham 149 career defensive snaps hasn't played a defensive snaps since 2022 most of the snaps came in 2021 with Chicago so a little bit of experience not a ton how many special team snaps does he have for his career 79 but he has gotten very little work in Pittsburgh in Camp and in the preseason what three snaps on special teams against Buffalo I'm not even sure what unit that was I'm not sure if that was just field goal block which is not giving you a ton of value let me ask you this why did you put Rush on there just as a almost a placeholder or is it something that Rush has done that he's got a chance to I I just I mean it be because uh the group as a whole is not just you know not deep at all you need numbers there it feels like yeah that's fair that's fair so this is a very fluid situation is our point right now I think of both backup outside spots and everything related to the slot position all right safety a difference here and people may be surprised with a change that I've made here uh you're keeping five and make Fitzpatrick toan iot Damonte KY M kibu and Ryan Watts I'm keeping everybody but I cut Ryan Watts for the first time in my roster prediction I I've consistently put Watts on there I just wonder if he's a little too raw a little too green to way the tros talked about him it sounded more put him on the practice squad for a year and grow as opposed to occupy a 53 spot all right so you have four right I have four correct okay I think that's where I started uh right uh initially was was for uh I do wonder about how safe Ryan watts is and if and look miles kerw how much you know look he's a special teamer yeah he had he had the interception the other game and all like that but you know you don't want to get in a situation I don't think we're miles KBW is on defense a lot uh it it it it if if they're going to keep five in total and Ryan watts is not the fifth then logic tells you it be an outsider wouldn't it or just four yeah and obviously at some point you're going to hopefully you'll get Cameron Sutton back you know yeah week 10 and then that'll give you some death I know that's that's a long time it is I mean you could roll with a four that you have I mean we're talking about in-game if somebody ever got hurt longer term that's when you potentially bring in the outsider Pittsburgh got pretty good at bringing in Outsiders to play safety last second uh last year and defensively across the board so you know got Casey's got versatility and yeah K would not be ideal but if you threw him out there you trust him made plays last year he looked good last year in in limited action so to get you through a game I think that can can work I got a lot of push back for cutting Watts people said oh he's goingon to be claimed I'd be surprised if Ryan Watts got claimed if you cut him we talk about that a lot that occasionally happens usually more valuable positions o line corner those types of things let's so on a safety that's that's against I just Austin's comments made him sound super raw I think he's made some mistakes I even saw that against Buffalo he's still Le in a position he's still learning a position now he could still capture a gunner spot if he does and that that's his path and he's gotten some work he got increased reps because Bishop did not play against Buffalo and Bishop was a starting Gunner opposite FZ Patrick versus Houston so there is still a path and if he has a great performance against Detroit then then he could make it um but to me just just like he was my 54th guy all right and I think that has you keeping uh nine total defensive backs yes which feels like but also I assume there's going to be some Outsiders brought in right and I'm 11 but I I I too am open for Outsiders coming in yeah this is the initial 53 cutdown date August 27th at 4M what does the roster look like that is how I create this roster because I don't predict specific names or Outsider positions uh and you have six wide receivers and you have you made up the difference in 10 offensive linemen correct uh no I have nine offensive linemen oh okay you have nine okay right I had 10 last time nine this time where are you light at because you're heavy at at may not heavy but you're heavier at 11 DBS I guess you're keeping the five receivers the six defensive lineman that's kind of where you made your cuts to balance that group out right that that that's that's where I balanced it and are we both 26 24 offense defense no I'm 25 25 you're 2 off 24 I'm 24 426 okay gotta Specialist of course the same in Boss Johnson and cl no discussion to be had there IR herbig hul the reserve pup cam Sutton to reserve suspended those guys do not do not have to make the 53 initially and then you got your practice squaders you put Logan Lee on there of your 17 give me like two or three names that you're most confident will make the practice squad of your list of names Julius well sh oh that's that that's a free space I knew you knew you would pull that kind of stuff uh Jonathan Ward I think it's done enough if he wants to ass to it uh your boy Whitman jacobe uh I don't know if I'd say he's a lock I mean he didn't show up as much in that last game I didn't think as he did the uh the first one Logan Lee feels like he's headed there yeah that's uh real man yeah you really have to John rice plumbley man I mean you know he he can do a lot of things for you in practice good scout team guy can wear a lot of hats that's a fun versatile hard worker that's worth keeping around on a 17 man practice cor Willington prev on uh I like it I I don't know if I'd consider him a lock but I like his chances and I think I left them off I left off my practice all right uh who are the guys that you would maybe consider more luck look these are and I got Jack ketto on there I think there's a good chance he ends up on there I do too yeah I think the names you mentioned plum Ward assuming good health still don't know the status of the hamstring injury um but if he's going to be good to go for week one then then he makes sense I I didn't have McCullum making the 53 I think if he doesn't he's a lock for practice squad Lee another virtual lock I think Wiman still makes it um Jaylen Elliott veteran safety I put him on the practice squad too and those are kind of the guys that to come to mind all right 17 Dart throws there you go all right Dave uh anything else here to discuss in today show if not we get to some reader emails and start closing out today what you think about JJ Watt being at practice Yeah tomin said he he liked to have him there can can we keep him Dave can we keep JJ Watt in Pittsburgh now that was that was cool to see those rumors continue to persist and Bill coward said he's still at his playing weight so I I want I wonder what it would take though because it felt like he looks like he yeah and I'm sure being around TJ gets that itch back a little bit JJ was talking about it's fall weather it was cool yesterday in Pittsburgh kind of have the feel but but like if there was time to unretire how did he not come back last year because a Pittsburgh loses cam Hayward and so there's a great opportunity to come back then and then B Houston has a great season goes on a playoff run how did he not unretired to to go back to Houston yeah only only he can answer that he's obviously and Bill cow I think said that he's in shape you know so and he looks it uh he still looks at his playing weight uh uh I I don't know I mean obviously we're just you know having fun with this uh there's there's there's nothing to suggest that uh he's he's going going to sign with any team at this point but you know if it got later on in the season and he thought he could get on a team that could make a run maybe he would consider it right but it felt like last year like what better circumstances would you need CU Houston made the playoffs Pittsburgh had injuries and made the playoffs they really could have used a defensive lineman like JJ Watt last year to try to push down the stretch I don't know what better situation would arise that would convince wat to do it uh but I'll just say this they have not closed the door on him un retiring JJ hasn't the comments and Bill Cower even TJ watt when he talked to K Adams during training camp said like guy still loves to play we still he still loves watching tape of mine giving me feedback TJ didn't say what was going to happen he said that's a whole JJ decision obviously but like the doors have not been closed for JJ it's made a nice Brandon iuk distraction yes right right until midseason when JJ Watt we WR about him probably 27 times based on whatever he's got going on so anyway let's get to some emails Dave and close out Today's Show all right let's start from uh Mark Al ales uh here from Arlington Virginia that's a new name I think H Alex and Dave how about the Terry as the camp award name a nod to the Terrible Towel the terrible podcast and to uh the campy Terry Bradshaw that's uh that's interesting I like it I like it consider that all right thanks for the email Mark uh Jason Chadwell right in hi David Ox Khan gets a lot of credit for his first two drafts trading away Claypool and his free agent signings thus far however I feel he deserves some criticism for trading away uh Deontay Johnson without a true solution to replace him I also believe he deserves some criticism for how he has assembled the cornerback room this offseason question why do you think KH and Tom were comfortable with the wide receiver and cornerback rooms they brought to Camp do you think the lack of depth and overall talent in these two rooms will hurt uh will hurt the team this season let's start with the second question uh first uh look we just are uh blogging from our mom's basements and podcasting from our mom's basements here but we've talked about concerns about this wide receiver in quarter quarterback room all offseason have we not we have and I've even mentioned we talked about all the turnover offensively the newness offensively the brand new quarterback room but the cornerback room is really pretty much brand new too just look at our predictions of Porter Jackson Trice Rush bishop and Graham only guy who played for Pittsburgh last year was Porter T was a Steeler but he was on IR so that is a brand new room it is interesting in today's age teams are always trying to be strong up positions besides quarterback receiver and Corner guys that can catch and guys who can cover guys who can catch and Pittsburgh seems weak on both and that is on a baseline level concerning uh agreed uh for sure so you know we'll have to wait and see how this plays out ultimately but you know is there reason to be concerned with both those position groups where they stand right now look a lot can can and probably will change you know Outsider or two the DB room and obviously we all wait and see what happens with uh the Brandon iuk situation here uh as far as the first part of the question uh deserve some criticism for trading away Johnson without a true solution to replace him we could put together 45 more minutes probably on this show talking about this and a lot of it would be centered around speculatory and things of that nature here but how much of a distraction may have uh an attitude may have Johnson presented this team first and foremost that's something that needs to be thought about in all this secondly I thought I think Deontay Johnson uh was and is a great separator I think uh the main trait of his as a wide receiver in the NFL is ability to separate however uh the other when looking at him from other areas there you know the drop s obviously come into play the running backwards after the catch uh obviously come into play uh when it comes to that uh the the overall yards after the catch uh comes into play on that there's a lot of things that need to uh be talked about overall I think uh when you discuss of why or why mainly why they decided to move on from him and Tra away well said and well discussed and I was critical of the the trade at least an Jackson seems to to be playing well for Pittsburgh so far um yeah as to why they felt comfortable or why they are comfortable with the roster the way it is and they get receiver they've always been angling towards making that Splash trade and so they've kind of kept the door open thinking and hoping they would land iuk or somebody like that and you're in an Arthur Smith offense it's going to run the ball a lot doesn't utilize number two number three receivers a ton comparative so that made Pittsburgh more comfortable not needing to have you know a great top three like past year as a corner why are they comfortable it just may be a transitional thing you had a bunch of free agents a lot of guys that were getting older Patrick Peterson not a free agent but somebody older that you cut to save money Levi Wallace James Pierre you you did want upgrades there it kind of felt like a renewal for the quarterback room just based on how everyone was kind of up at the same time contractually and probably time for some some new faces in there but it is going to potentially create Growing Pains at the start but let let's get to to September 8th let's see how the rooms look overall hopefully by September 8th we'll know what happens with auk we'll know if any Outsiders get brought in in the secondary I imagine at least one new secondary name will be added let's take it let's be able to look at the roster as it is when the game start counting because this roster is not being done you know being shaped and formed quite yet right uh all right let's move on to Rob Jones who writes in an unpopular opinion is the offensive lineman that should be extended is Dan Moore Jr whether you agree or not what do you think that would look like uh I don't even be because of of just you know not thinking it's going to happen uh I I don't even know that it's worthy of really even speculating out what it would look like yeah I don't know you know obviously tackles get paid and they get paid more than than people think I said the scarcity just in general should there be a conversation about extending extending out danmore Jr I don't think so and they e base it off of just obviously having two first round picks in in Jones in fanu uh yeah just uh I mean you you're already invested in that in the draft and all like that yeah yeah I'm I'm with you overall I mean I you know you're not going to trade the guy and and Morris maybe more valuable than people thought he would be but I don't see the extension there uh I would would agree uh I just I I don't I I don't think if you had to guess on on a number because he's saying like even just putting aside the possibility like what is he what is his market value right now we talking like eight million no no no I wouldn't even go that high I'd say I mean look I I I would say his average yearly value is what it is right now which is about hair over three million maybe four million on the open market do you think it'd be that little I think a little bit more than that h i I don't okay all right fair enough uh okay let's see here we got anything else here Rich HUD good day fellas two questions here it seems Brad's right arm is the one that's hurt could this be the reason he is struggling as it's his uh outside arm could be a great time to make make this left tackle switch do you agree next with Jaylen Warren injury I think the this highlights not naji's uh real superpower can Naji uh keep it up for however long uh Jaylen is out uh we we had the conversation about uh bradick Jones and the outside arm a couple of times already right yeah um I think there's an impact to it for sure I I do think typically you're punching more with the inside hand that's a little more important to secure that and so when you're the right tackle with your right hand injured it may hurt you a little bit less in some sense but obviously you want have both hands and be able to punch strong and strike efficiently with with both hands there um in terms of Harris and we listen if War misses time it's going to be maybe a week maybe the opener not going to really impact things too much but yeah if Harris has to be the guy for a week or two he can do that all right uh let's see I think we've got through everything here that I'm seeing in the email machine all right anything else dad before we get out of here uh 90 minutes in nope we'll come back on Friday and see what there is to talk about then all right uh uh we'll be recapping the Mike Tomlin press conference from Thursday then and we'll see what else hits beyond that so in the meantime you can follow me on Twitter SLX steers Depot follow Alex alexor kazora follow the show at terrible podcast email the show th terrible podcast gmail.com if you like what we do and want to donate to the call steers deo.com hit the Donate button uh in the navigational bar also if you like the an adree version steers depot.com hit the AdFree button follow the directions that way so until Friday as always thanks for listening to the terrible podcast with Dave and Alex [Music]