The Pittsburgh Steelers have a better idea of what the roster is going to look like for the team during the 2026 season now that the NFL Draft has came and went, as well as the majority of free agency. The roster is in a much better spot on paper than it was at this time a year ago, but the players are still going to have to execute under a new coaching staff in order for the franchise to have the type of success that it wants to have. There are also a handful of players that are going to be fighting for roster spots under this new regime, and there are a few positions that are especially crowded.
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Steelers' Patrick Graham coaches during voluntary veteran minicamp in 2026.
One of the deeper spots on the roster is cornerback. Joey Porter Jr. and Jamel Dean are the two obvious starters on the outside, and, behind them, there is some solid depth and versatility.
It will be interesting to see how the rest of the room shapes up. Brandin Echols, Asante Samuel Jr., Daylen Everette, and Donte Kent are the other prominent names to watch at cornerback. Jalen Ramsey is also a factor as he can play both safety and cornerback, but it is unclear what he will be doing in 2026.
Beat writer Mark Kaboly joined 93.7 The Fan on Monday morning, and he was asked about the group of cornerbacks, and who might make the roster. Host Dorin Dickerson brought up the fact that Samuel could be the odd man out of the group, and Kaboly agreed that could be the case.
"Yeah." Kaboly said. "If you want to save some money."
Samuel was a mid-season addition for the Steelers in 2025 as he fought his way back into the NFL after having a pretty serious back injury. He played well while seeing limited opportunities, and the organization decided to re-sign him on another one-year deal. His deal was worth a total of $4 million, with $2.785 million being fully guaranteed.
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Steelers' Asante Samuel Jr. during a practice in his first weeks with the organization in 2025.
Kaboly makes it sound like parting ways with Samuel would be a financial decision, but cutting the cornerback would not save Pittsburgh much money. The organization would still have a dead cap charge of $2.785 million, and the cap savings would only be $1.215 million. That might not be enough to make a decision based off of it.
Going into the 2025 season, the Steelers kept eight defensive backs in total. There were three pure safeties, four pure cornerbacks, and Ramsey. Ramsey, Porter, Dean, DeShon Elliott, and Jaquan Brisker should all be viewed as locks to make the final roster. That is five spots. Everette should also be a lock as a third-round rookie. Echols, Samuel, Kent, and Sebastian Castro would then be fighting it out for the final two spots on the roster.
Being able to contribute on special teams will be important. Echols played 111 special teams snaps in 2025, and Castro has shown he can be valuable in that area as well.
Alysa Rubin / Pittsburgh Steelers
Steelers cornerback Asante Samuel Jr. seen taking a knee while participating in a regular-season practice with his new teammates at the UPMC Sports Complex in Pittsburgh, PA.
Steelers Valuing Versatility Could Help Samuel Make Final Roster
Samuel has one thing going for him, and that is that he can play in the slot and on the outside. This makes him a great depth piece in the cornerback room, along with his experience. He made plays for the Steelers in 2025 and the organization should want to keep him around, but it is going to be difficult to file this room down.
Once there is some clarity to how the team will be deploying Ramsey it should be easier to predict who might make the final roster on at defensive back, but until then it is hard to imagine that Samuel isn't on the fringe.
What do you think about Samuel's chances to make the final roster? Let me know on X, @brogannoey!
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