Pittsburgh Steelers Players Most Likely to Be Cut Before 2017 Season

Though training camp is more than a month away and teams aren't required to reduce their rosters to 53 players until September, that doesn't mean the 90 men who make up the current Pittsburgh Steelers lineup have reason to feel confident that their job security isn't in jeopardy.

It's an unpleasant but inevitable reality that nearly half of of the Steelers' present players will be released before the start of Week 1. Though they all will be working to avoid such a fate this fall, the restraints of the roster and the fact that there are numerous veteran incumbents who are in no danger of being released means that some of these eventual roster cuts can already be predicted.

Here are the Steelers most likely to be released before the start of the 2017 regular season.

CB Senquez Golson

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Cornerback Senquez Golson is on the comeback trail, having missed his first two seasons with shoulder and foot injuries that have thus far derailed his career.

Also not helping are the numerous other cornerbacks the Steelers have brought in to the fold during his absence, including 2016 Round 1 draft pick Artie Burns, 2017 Round 3 selection Cameron Sutton and free agent signees Ross Cockrell and Coty Sensabaugh.

With such a loaded position group, Golson not only has to prove himself as a defensive back this summer, but also as an asset on special teams in order to make the Steelers' roster.

With so many other talented special-teamers already on the team as well as a logjam at cornerback, Golson doesn't seem likely to make it through roster cuts. While the 23-year-old will be given every opportunity to do so, particularly by participating in the team's preseason games, at this point he is more likely to be released than to remain.

RB Fitzgerald Toussaint

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Last year, Fitzgerald Toussaint was the Steelers' No. 3 running back, behind starter Le'Veon Bell and his backup, DeAngelo Williams. He rushed only 14 times, though, for 58 yards and had just three catches for 33 yards. He also returned 13 kickoffs for 278 yards.

Though Williams is gone, the Steelers added a running back, James Conner, in the third round of the 2017 draft. They also brought aboard free agent Knile Davis, who will be Toussaint's biggest competition as the Steelers' No. 3 back as well as a kick and punt returner.

Davis has the experience edge and has a better yards-per-rush average as well as two career touchdowns as a kick returner. Further, the Steelers aren't major players in free agency and only add outside veterans they have every intent of keeping on the roster for at least the upcoming season.

For these reasons, Davis should beat out Toussaint for that No. 3 spot at running back, thus cutting Toussaint's Steelers career short after two seasons.

WR Cobi Hamilton

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Steelers receiver Cobi Hamilton ended up having a bigger role than anyone could have anticipated a year ago, thanks to the suspension of Martavis Bryant and Markus Wheaton missing time due to injury.

Hamilton appeared in 11 games with eight starts, catching 17 passes for 234 yards and two scores, and he also returned five kickoffs for 83 yards.

Though Wheaton moved on in free agency, Bryant has since been reinstated. The Steelers also drafted a receiver, JuJu Smith-Schuster, in Round 2 this year and added veteran Justin Hunter via free agency.

Those three join slot receiver Eli Rogers, star wideout Antonio Brown and special-teams ace Darrius Heyward-Bey as the six receivers most likely to make the Steelers' final roster. Demarcus Ayers is another candidate to remain on the team should the Steelers choose not to keep Rogers or Heyward-Bey.

Simply put, Hamilton, like many other Steelers receivers on the roster's margins, will fall victim to the numbers game when roster cuts come down later this year. 

WR Sammie Coates

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Another receiver in danger of being cut by the Steelers this fall is Sammie Coates. The 24-year-old, who was selected by Pittsburgh in the third round of the 2015 draft, saw his first starting action last year but didn't have the greatest season, catching only 21 of the 49 passes thrown his way, for 435 yards and two scores.

It should be noted, though, that Coates poor year can be attributable, at least in part, to two broken fingers and a groin injury, all of which required offseason surgeries. At full health, Coates may show enough this summer to retain a roster spot. But just like Cobi Hamilton, the odds may not be in Coates' favor simply because of the sheer volume of talented receivers the Steelers would rather not cut this summer.

What could preserve Coates' roster spot is the Steelers' view of fellow wideout Martavis Bryant. Bryant has already been suspended numerous times for violating the NFL's substance abuse policy, and one more slip-up will have him out of the league permanently.

If the Steelers are nervous about Bryant's ability to follow the league's rules, Coates could stick around as a backup and insurance, leading to someone like Ayers, Rogers or Heyward-Bey being released. However, as things stand at present, there does not appear to be room on the Steelers roster for Coates this season.

DT Daniel McCullers

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The defensive trends in the NFL are not in the favor of Steelers defensive tackle Daniel McCullers. Teams like the Steelers, who are considered to employ 3-4 base defense, are rarely in that formation—the nickel, or five defensive backs, is increasingly becoming the norm. Pittsburgh will thus have little need to pad their roster with defensive tackles this year, and among them, McCullers will be an odd man out.

Last year, Pittsburgh's defense was on the field for nearly 1,200 snaps, but only 851 of those saw the Steelers employ a defensive tackle. And of those 851, only 205 belonged to McCullers, according to Pro Football Focus; the Steelers instead preferred Javon Hargrave to serve in the middle of the defensive line, something that should continue in 2017.

Also working against McCullers' continued job security is the signing of Tyson Alualu in free agency. Between Alualu and Hargrave, the Steelers will have all the players and all the talent they need to round out the defensive line. That means McCullers, the Steelers' 2014 sixth-round draft pick, will have to move on.

LS Kameron Canaday

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When the 2017 NFL draft kicked off, the Steelers had two long snappers on their roster—incumbent starter Greg Warren and his presumed competition Kameron Canaday. But by the end of the draft, they had three, as the Steelers chose to select Colin Holba with their sixth-round pick.

Not long after, both Canaday and Warren had been released, seemingly confirming that Holba would not have to fight for his job over the summer. However, things changed in late May, when the Steelers opted to bring Canaday back.

Though this could result in a positional battle between Canaday and Holba this summer, the re-signing of the former likely has more to do with having enough snappers in a 90-man strong training camp rather than a confirmation that Holba's roster spot is in any trouble.

Teams don't typically use draft resources on long snappers. That the Steelers did indicates they have every intention of moving forward with the rookie and that Canaday will eventually be released for the second time this year.

Rookies on the Brink

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There's no guarantee that all eight of the Steelers' 2017 draft picks will make the team's 53-man roster. There's not even a guarantee that those who don't will land on the team's practice squad. But it's even more difficult for the undrafted rookies currently on the roster. Their battle just to make an NFL team was only the first they will face as newly-minted NFL players; next is trying to get enough snaps in practices and the preseason to maintain job security.

Five undrafted rookies already seem like long shots to have a spot with the Steelers once the regular season begins. Two are defensive ends—Nelson Adams and Christian Brown.

The Steelers have two established starters in place already in Cameron Heyward and Stephon Tuitt and a backup they trust in L.T. Walton. That means there is room for only one more defensive end on the 53-man roster, and of the options, neither Adams nor Brown seem destined to fill the spot.

At tight end, Phazahn Odom will have the toughest route to making the final roster. Jesse James has the starting job locked down, while Xavier Grimble proved to be an asset last year as a receiver and in the red zone. David Johnson will continue to be the Steelers' primary blocking tight end. If Pittsburgh keeps a fourth tight end on the main roster, the undrafted rookie to watch is Scott Orndoff, not Odom.

The numbers game is also not in the favor of linebacker Matt Galambos. Signed after a tryout at the Steelers' rookie minicamp, there are simply just too many quality interior linebackers on the roster for there to be room for him.

The same can be said for quarterback Bart Houston, who is only with Pittsburgh as a camp arm. The Steelers' backup for Ben Roethlisberger this year will remain Landry Jones, while fourth-round draft pick Josh Dobbs will be the No. 3 and won't likely be a part of the Steelers' 46-man game-day roster. Thus, if Houston will remain with the Steelers in any capacity, it will be as part of the practice squad.