In a surprising move, the Steelers decided to go young at quarterback, releasing veteran Landry Jones and keeping Josh Dobbs and Mason Rudolph as the backups to Ben Roethlisberger.
That means the team will go into the 2018 season with Antonio Brown being the only player on the roster other than Roethlisberger who has attempted a pass in an NFL game.
The team also apparently asked the NFL for a roster exemption for running back Le'Veon Bell, as it did a year ago, since the Steelers cut the roster to 54 players rather than the mandated 53. The team received a roster exemption for Bell last year when he did not report and sign his franchise tender until Labor Day. Bell was activated the following Friday and linebacker Steven Johnson was released.
Jones, 29, had been Roethlisberger's primary backup the past two seasons. A fourth-round draft pick in 2013, he has completed just under 64 percent of his 169 career passes for 1,309 yards, eight touchdowns and seven interceptions. His career passer rating is 86.2 and the Steelers were 3-2 in his five career starts.
He had one season remaining on a two-year contract he signed last season and was due to earn $1.9 million.
The decision to go with Dobbs and Rudolph is an interesting one. The Steelers have never before gone into a season without a quarterback behind Roethlisberger on the roster with NFL experience.
When the Steelers selected Rudolph with the first of their two third-round draft picks this year, most assumed it meant the end of Dobbs' time on the roster, just one year after he was a fourth round draft pick.
But after posting a preseason passer rating of just 68.9 as a rookie, Dobbs nearly doubled that this season. He finished with a rating of 112.0, throwing four TD passes in 43 attempts while also rushing for another score.
Rudolph, meanwhile, was 24 of 44 for 305 yards, three touchdowns and one interception.
The Steelers also had at least two other cuts that were interesting.
Safety Nat Berhe, signed as a free agent in the offseason, was released at a savings of $720,000, although he apparently expects to be back with the team after some roster shuffling:
Rumors of my demise have been greatly exaggerated. ??? https://t.co/CVAyJAMPEr
— Natnael Berhe (@NatBerhe) September 1, 2018
And cornerback Brian Allen, a 2017 fifth-round pick who spent all of last season on the active roster, also was cut, as the Steelers went with five corners: Joe Haden, Artie Burns, Mike Hilton, Cam Sutton and Coty Sensabaugh. The team also kept five safeties, with Sean Davis, Morgan Burnett and Jordan Dangerfield being joined by rookies Terrell Edmunds and Marcus Allen. Edmunds was the team's first-round draft pick, while Allen was the first of two fifth-round selections.
Edmunds, Allen and Rudolph are three of eight rookies on the roster. They are joined by receiver James Washington, a second-round pick, tackle Chukes Okorafor, a third-round selection, running back Jaylen Samuels, a fifth-round pick, and undrafted linebackers Ola Adeniyi and Matthew Thomas.
Thomas, an undrafted rookie from Florida State, led the Steelers in tackles in the preseason, with 25. He also had a sack on which he forced a fumble and returned it 75 yards in the preseason finale against Carolina.
Adeniyi, a Toledo product, led the team with three preseason sacks.
The team also decided to stick with incumbent punter Jordan Berry over Matt Wile. Berry, in his fourth season, averaged 42.9 yards per punt in the preseason, compared to 49.0 yards for Wile.
And despite an unsettled situation at tight end, the Steelers kept just three, Vance McDonald, Jesse James and Xavier Grimble. McDonald has expressed a desire to be ready to play in the opener next Sunday despite being out since July 29 with a foot injury, while Grimble had surgery two weeks ago to repair a torn ligament in his thumb.
Receiver Eli Rogers, as expected, was placed on the PUP List, meaning he will be out at least the first six games. Rogers, who also was suspended one game by the NFL for violation of the league's substance abused policy, is recovering from a torn ACL suffered Jan. 14 in the team's playoff loss to Jacksonville.
