Steelers Veteran Suddenly Becomes Cut Candidate As Cap Casualty Now Likely

Something that has always been the case since Pittsburgh Steelers General Manager Omar Khan took over the front office has been his willingness to always upgrade the roster. In his eyes, competition is a great thing and a team can never have too many respectable players on the depth chart. It hasn't mattered if it was the offseason, during training camp, or right in the middle of the fall. He proved this once again on Wednesday night when it was reported that the organization would be bringing back veteran defender Elandon Roberts — a player who maybe should have never slipped away in the first place.

Roberts is known as a tone-setter. He loves to hit hard and send a message to the opposing offense. The physicality is something that any defense could always use more of, so it's a pretty strong August signing for Khan and co. It also helps that Roberts played for defensive coordinator Patrick Graham when the two were with the Las Vegas Raiders.

The Steelers made an interesting decision to not upgrade the inside linebackers' room during the 2026 offseason. In fact, upgrade may be the wrong word because the team simply didn't add anything to the unit at all. Patrick Queen, Cole Holcomb, Payton Wilson and Malik Harrison all returned with the initial expectation that they all would be included in the top-4.

Roberts appears to have been waiting for the right opportunity to pop up prior to signing a free-agent deal. Sometimes veterans need a little more time to get their bodies and minds right prior to joining a roster for a 17-game season. In this case, Roberts has decided to come back to a franchise and system in which he is very familiar with.

On the surface, this may not have seemed like the move could threaten any specific player's job. However, that's not necessarily the case. Roberts joining the locker room could be extremely bad news for Harrison. The linebacker has a decent-sized cap hit, and could soon be looking for a new home. The Athletic's Mike DeFabo detailed this on social media.

"In related news… The Steelers can save $4.75 million against the cap by cutting Malik Harrison. Signed to be a starter last year, he’s practically fallen off the depth chart and is now taking third-team reps," DeFabo wrote on X.

Many believed that Harrison could have been on his way out much earlier than August simply because he was never viewed as someone who would be consistently playing next to Queen in 2026. The Steelers, however, never made any sort of transaction, and that led fans to believe that the coaching staff was happy with the room as it stood. Now, bringing in Roberts immediately should raise some alarms regarding Harrison's future.

There isn't really a world in which the Steelers will keep five inside linebackers on the 53-man roster. After the news about Roberts' signing, it's completely possible that Harrison could even request to be released. If he remains in Pittsburgh until the preseason is over, he may have a tough time landing somewhere else in a timely fashion. Because he is a veteran, the front office honoring this hypothetical request wouldn't be out of the question.

However, depth is a privilege this time of year. The coaching staff will want to see how ready Roberts is to play, and if he shows some signs of not being prepared, then Harrison might still be a better option moving forward. It's hard to deny that the cap savings wouldn't make sense, especially because the Steelers are a little low in that area currently.

Steelers Make Good Decision Signing Roberts

Not only did fans in Pittsburgh enjoy watching Roberts play during his two-year tenure with the organization, but the defender also has plenty of familiarity with Graham. If Harrison hasn't been figuring out the new system very well, signing someone who does understand it makes perfect sense. Time will tell what the future holds; however, it sure does appear that Harrison could be shipped out of town relatively soon.

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