4 Steelers On The Bubble That Can Force Their Way Onto The Roster With A Great Preseason

The Pittsburgh Steelers are gearing up for training camp for the 2026 season. They put a lot of focus into the young players during the offseason program, but now, everyone is expected to show up and play their best. With a brand-new coaching staff leading the way, there could be more players whose jobs are not safe due to the lack of long-term connection to the new head coach. Many of these players are going to have to fight for their jobs whereas they may not have needed to before. 

1: Will Howard, Quarterback

Will Howard is the most obvious candidate out of this bunch. He has a disadvantage due to Mason Rudolph having plenty of experience while he has yet to even take a snap in the preseason due to a rookie year injury. Even with all the praise that has come out about him, his quarterback abilities are still completely unknown. Running the scout-team offense for half a year does not give the coaching staff a lot to go off of mentally.

On the other hand, Howard has total control of his fate. Everyone knows what Rudolph is: a decent backup that can take some snaps here and there. The veteran passer has no starter upside anymore, so the former sixth-round pick just needs to show some level of starting-caliber upside. If he can do that, there is no reason that he should be cut over a career backup.

2: Kevin Jobity Jr., Defensive Tackle

This is another slam dunk option for a young guy to come in and make his presence known. Kevin Jobity Jr. has been the summer program darling with his freakish size and high-quality athletic traits. As the saying goes, you can't teach size. The question for the 308-pound defensive lineman is how quick he can develop technique and put that athleticism to good use.

The good news for Jobity is that the Steelers' defensive line depth is somewhat weak; although, it's not as bad as it has been in recent years. Former sixth-round pick Logan Lee has only played 72 total snaps in his career due to injury while also struggling to develop. If the undrafted rookie free agent can come in and shine, it would be hard to justify keeping Lee over him. 

3: Daryl Porter Jr., Cornerback

General Manager Omar Khan has made one thing very clear earlier in the offseason: he always wants to have a plethora of defensive backs on the team for when someone unfortunately gets injured. That opens up a spot for someone like Daryl Porter Jr. to earn the trust of his new coaching staff and push his way onto the roster, especially if he can be a quality contributor on special teams. 

Instead of taking the job away from another defensive back, another position could lose a player to make room for him. Maybe a slightly better defensive player like Malik Harrison would have to get cut to allow Khan to keep another cornerback. This all starts with Porter coming in and grabbing the attention of his coaching staff quickly and showing what he can really do. 

Steelers Seem To Really Want 1 Bubble Player On The Team

4: Eli Heidenreich, Running Back

The Steelers' fascination with Eli Heidenreich is fascinating in its own right. Typically, a seventh-round pick in a position group has a very low chance to crack the roster. In this case, though, Pittsburgh has been flaunting him about as much as it has their first-round pick, Max Iheanachor. With all the media presence surrounding this hometown kid who went to Navy, a spot may just open up for him. 

Kaleb Johnson never got a fair chance to prove his worth in the 2025 season, and early projections seem to point towards more of the same. The thought of cutting a third-round pick in his second season is insane, especially for some random seventh-round rookie. However, Pittsburgh may be inclined to give up on the Johnson experiment early and keep Heidenreich around and continue to show him off.

What do you think about the bubble players that could force their way onto the roster? Let us know on X at @Steelers_ChrisB.

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