3 Surprising Steelers Who Will Be Cut at the 53-Man Roster Deadline

The Pittsburgh Steelers went a perfect 3-0 in the preseason, but that was the last chance for players lower on the depth chart to fight their way onto the team. Unfortunately, not every player will make it past the 53-man roster deadline, which is set for Tuesday, Aug. 30 at 4 p.m. ET.

Outside of the expected undrafted rookies and unproven free agent signings, there's always a few surprise cuts at the end of August. Usually, it's players with NFL experience that just don't fit in the team's future anymore. Here's a look at three surprise Steelers that will not be on the team in Week 1.

Pittsburgh Steelers Roster

1. Marcus Allen, ILB

Marcus Allen appeared in 23% of the defensive snaps in 2020 and 65% of the specials teams snaps in 2021 for the Steelers. He has been utilized as a reliable depth option for two years now, but has yet to really showcase an ability to rise above that role. The free-agent signing of Myles Jack hurt Allen's roster chances from the get-go. Jack and Devin Bush will be the starters as Robert Spillane takes on the top reserve role. Mark Robinson has had a strong preseason and Pittsburgh seems content not giving up on second-year pro Buddy Johnson yet. That means Allen is the odd man out and could easily find himself on another NFL roster before the season begins.

2. Anthony McFarland, RB

It wasn't too long ago that Anthony McFarland was in the conversation to overtake the No. 2 running back spot from Benny Snell. The emergence of rookie Jaylen Warren now has the third-year pro fighting for a roster spot, though. Warren caught a touchdown pass in the Steelers first preseason game and has been receiving glowing praise from the coaching staff. If the final RB spot comes down to Snell or McFarland, Snell has the edge given his 989 career yards from scrimmage. The logical route here seems to be placing McFarland on the practice squad and hoping no other NFL team takes a chance by picking him up.

3. Steven Sims, WR

When the Steelers re-signed Steven Sims to a futures contract last offseason, all signs pointed to him being the fifth of sixth wide receiver come Week 1. However, the additions of Miles Boykin, George Pickens and Calvin Austin has made that outcome seem much less likely now. Pickens is going to start along the outside and Boykin's experience allows him to be a solid backup option. Austin also lines up to be a reliable slot backup to Chase Claypool once he returns to full health. Sims has 575 yards and 5 touchdowns to his name across 29 career games. It'll be interesting to see if Pittsburgh risks him being picked up by another NFL squad or not.

Larry Rupp is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Larry Rupp also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username phillyfan424. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in their articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.