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HR2: Roster Breakdown · In the Locker Room presented by Neighborhood Ford Store (Pittsburgh Steelers)

• 0:04
  Speaker 1: This is In the Locker Room with King and Starks
• 0:08
  Speaker 1: on Steelers Nation Radio. Presented by your neighborhood Ford store.
• 0:13
  Speaker 1: The F-150 is the official truck of the Pittsburgh Steelers.
• 0:17
  Speaker 1: And by Steelers Pro Shop. Get it direct from the
• 0:20
  Speaker 1: team at the Steelers Pro Shop at shop.steelers.com.
• 0:31
  Speaker 2: Oh, the first Optimus drive-by has happened for the 2026-2027 season.
• 0:39
  Speaker 2: He didn't really say hello, but he gave us a
• 0:41
  Speaker 2: nice honk there, letting us know we are firmly into
• 0:44
  Speaker 2: hour number two here, Rob. Boy, that is, I guess,
• 0:50
  Speaker 2: screeching and honking to my soul. I don't know how
• 0:54
  Speaker 2: else to put that.
• 0:55
  Speaker 3: A welcome honking of the horn. Yes, good stuff. Very
• 0:58
  Speaker 3: good to see Optimus Prime coming by. So, yes, good
• 1:02
  Speaker 3: stuff to have in the locker room, but great stuff
• 1:05
  Speaker 3: to have Willie Colon, man. Wow. Really insightful, great stuff.
• 1:09
  Speaker 3: Can't wait to see him on Thursday night in Buffalo.
• 1:16
  Speaker 2: Yeah, no, it's going to be fun having Willie there
• 1:18
  Speaker 2: for another game. And like I said, I mean, Willie's
• 1:22
  Speaker 2: a guy who has been through the same process that
• 1:27
  Speaker 2: all these young guys are going through, that I went
• 1:29
  Speaker 2: through as well. And providing a fresh set of eyes
• 1:32
  Speaker 2: and perspective is always good to hear from another veteran
• 1:36
  Speaker 2: that's done it. And Willie's gone on not only his
• 1:39
  Speaker 2: time in Pittsburgh, but then also going to the Jets
• 1:42
  Speaker 2: and playing there. So he's seen it with multiple coaches
• 1:46
  Speaker 2: in multiple different ways. So he understands what it is
• 1:50
  Speaker 2: to be, you know, in this position that a lot
• 1:53
  Speaker 2: of these guys find themselves as they enter this last game.
• 1:56
  Speaker 3: I am looking forward to more from Willie Colon. You
• 1:59
  Speaker 3: know what I'm saying, Max? You hear what I'm saying?
• 2:02
  Speaker 3: I'm looking forward.
• 2:03
  Speaker 2: Yeah, exactly. I'm picking up what you're putting down.
• 2:07
  Speaker 3: Yeah, more Willie. So, you know, we're talking about roster
• 2:10
  Speaker 3: construction and different things that happen and different things that
• 2:14
  Speaker 3: can happen. And I'm going to throw a couple things
• 2:18
  Speaker 3: out there. I'd actually like your opinion on both of
• 2:20
  Speaker 3: these things. And then put some of the recent Steelers
• 2:24
  Speaker 3: moves in context because they're different kinds of moves. So...
• 2:29
  Speaker 3: a short time ago, um, the Cleveland Browns made a
• 2:34
  Speaker 3: roster move. They lost defensive end, Alex, right. Five and
• 2:38
  Speaker 3: a half sacks last year and a starting defensive end,
• 2:42
  Speaker 3: solid player for him. Don't forget no miles Garrett, right?
• 2:46
  Speaker 3: So you're, you know, you could ill afford to lose
• 2:48
  Speaker 3: any more guys in your defensive line, but then they
• 2:51
  Speaker 3: go out and they sign Derek Barnett and you're thinking, well,
• 2:55
  Speaker 3: I didn't even, I didn't even know Derek Barnett was unemployed,
• 2:58
  Speaker 3: you know? Um, But he's, you know, five sacks. Remember
• 3:01
  Speaker 3: last year against the Steelers, he had half a sack
• 3:04
  Speaker 3: in that game at Accresure Stadium. And so, obviously, if
• 3:11
  Speaker 3: you're Cleveland, you would have preferred Alex Wright. And I
• 3:15
  Speaker 3: can say that with confidence because if you preferred Derek Barnett,
• 3:18
  Speaker 3: you would have signed him before the injury. However, your thought–
• 3:23
  Speaker 3: so when you make a move like that, Derek Barnett
• 3:27
  Speaker 3: is clearly coming in. I think they gave him $ 5. 5 million,
• 3:30
  Speaker 3: something like that. He's clearly coming in and expected to
• 3:35
  Speaker 3: play and contribute right away. And it's a reminder, first
• 3:39
  Speaker 3: of all, I love your opinion on the difference between
• 3:42
  Speaker 3: Wright and Barnett, whether it's something that's really going to
• 3:45
  Speaker 3: hurt Cleveland or it's kind of a non-factor, but also
• 3:49
  Speaker 3: the notion that there are probably still other veteran guys
• 3:52
  Speaker 3: out there that teams can pick up, much like the
• 3:55
  Speaker 3: Steelers did. earlier in this offseason when they signed, you know,
• 3:59
  Speaker 3: Rayshon Jenkins.
• 4:04
  Speaker 2: I'm in perfect agreeance with you there, Rob. I think
• 4:08
  Speaker 2: when you take a veteran of that ilk, right, a
• 4:12
  Speaker 2: Derek Barnett, advanced years, has been through it. I mean,
• 4:16
  Speaker 2: you can look at just how we kind of did
• 4:17
  Speaker 2: with Landon Roberts, right?
• 4:19
  Speaker 3: Yeah, that's another great example.
• 4:20
  Speaker 2: You're taking stock about where your team is and what
• 4:24
  Speaker 2: you're missing from And for the Browns, it was, you're
• 4:28
  Speaker 2: missing a pass rusher. And Alex, right. So I need
• 4:30
  Speaker 2: another pass rusher to technically replace them. Right. Um, so there's,
• 4:34
  Speaker 2: you know, comes from an injury standpoint, also a production standpoint.
• 4:37
  Speaker 2: If I don't like what I've seen so far from
• 4:40
  Speaker 2: the group that I've had, I need to go and
• 4:43
  Speaker 2: upgrade it in a different type of way. So that's
• 4:45
  Speaker 2: usually what you're getting in this type of, in this
• 4:47
  Speaker 2: type of scenarios, especially when you bring guys in late, um,
• 4:51
  Speaker 2: you know, it's either due to an injury and you
• 4:53
  Speaker 2: need to replace them. Um, you know, with, with a
• 4:56
  Speaker 2: body or production or, or it's, we have, they haven't
• 5:02
  Speaker 2: lived up to the expectations that we have for them.
• 5:04
  Speaker 2: And so we need somebody in chain, change up the
• 5:06
  Speaker 2: dynamic and somebody who can live up to whatever expectation
• 5:12
  Speaker 2: we have. So there's a lot of different ways, but
• 5:14
  Speaker 2: I think, yeah, this was definitely a corresponding move where
• 5:17
  Speaker 2: we need sackers. Cause we don't have miles Garrett and
• 5:19
  Speaker 2: we lost one of our other guys that we thought
• 5:21
  Speaker 2: was going to be the sacker in place of miles Garrett.
• 5:24
  Speaker 2: Now we need, The replacement of Miles Garrett's replacement to
• 5:29
  Speaker 2: come in. And that's where you, a la Derek Barnett,
• 5:32
  Speaker 2: and he's been a solid vet, knows what to do,
• 5:35
  Speaker 2: familiar with the system that they're running, so you can
• 5:38
  Speaker 2: put him in this late because he could catch up
• 5:42
  Speaker 2: pretty quickly.
• 5:43
  Speaker 3: I can't think of another sport in which that's, guys
• 5:49
  Speaker 3: like that are available. You know, I mean, it's not like,
• 5:52
  Speaker 3: I look, Derek Barnett, I mean, he's not in his prime,
• 5:54
  Speaker 3: but he had five sacks last year. It's not like...
• 5:56
  Speaker 3: He didn't do anything. You know, it's amazing to me
• 6:00
  Speaker 3: sometimes that these guys are out there and they're available,
• 6:05
  Speaker 3: and you think, why aren't they employed? But so it goes.
• 6:09
  Speaker 3: Like I said, I don't think there's any sport quite
• 6:10
  Speaker 3: like that with the NFL. The other move that happened
• 6:14
  Speaker 3: yesterday was, and the Steelers are going to see both
• 6:18
  Speaker 3: of these teams, both of the teams that were involved
• 6:20
  Speaker 3: in the trade, and the trade was, you know, Kayshaun Booty,
• 6:25
  Speaker 3: the wide receiver, because of the injury to Jalen Reed
• 6:29
  Speaker 3: for Houston. And that's obviously a big blow for them.
• 6:31
  Speaker 3: They go out and they're trying now to backfill sort
• 6:34
  Speaker 3: of desperately. Oh my God, we got to get somebody
• 6:36
  Speaker 3: in here who can, who can fill a void for us.
• 6:40
  Speaker 3: And then they send a safety back to new England
• 6:44
  Speaker 3: as part of that trade.
• 6:45
  Speaker 2: So I.
• 6:47
  Speaker 3: Thought that that was max. I thought that was an
• 6:49
  Speaker 3: interesting trade. And again, I bring it up for two reasons. One,
• 6:55
  Speaker 3: the Steelers are going to be playing both of these teams, right?
• 6:59
  Speaker 3: So they're going to be playing New England, and they're
• 7:00
  Speaker 3: going to be playing Houston. Houston's part of the AFC
• 7:02
  Speaker 3: South thing, and the Steelers, because they're a division winner,
• 7:05
  Speaker 3: they get the Patriots. So, I'm sorry, Jalen Reed is
• 7:11
  Speaker 3: the defensive back going to Houston. Jaden Higgins is the guy,
• 7:15
  Speaker 3: the receiver who was injured. So, clearly, if you're New England,
• 7:19
  Speaker 3: you're trying to backfill. If you're Houston, you obviously, if
• 7:24
  Speaker 3: you're Let me start again. If you are New England,
• 7:29
  Speaker 3: you clearly feel that booty is expendable and you like
• 7:33
  Speaker 3: what you're getting back with Reed. And if you're Houston,
• 7:36
  Speaker 3: you're trying to backfill with the loss of Jaden Higgins
• 7:39
  Speaker 3: to bring in somebody who is probably I don't think
• 7:43
  Speaker 3: you can really say, OK, you know, he's our replacement
• 7:47
  Speaker 3: for Jaden Higgins. But I think what you can say is, hey,
• 7:50
  Speaker 3: he'll give us a reasonable facsimile of Jaden Higgins. the
• 7:54
  Speaker 3: best we can do on short notice and maybe patch
• 7:58
  Speaker 3: a hole more than anything else.
• 8:01
  Speaker 2: And that's patch a hole until we get to these
• 8:04
  Speaker 2: final cuts, right? I mean, that's the other thing that
• 8:06
  Speaker 2: we have to consider is even if you see that
• 8:09
  Speaker 2: guy make it to the umpteenth hour, there's going to
• 8:13
  Speaker 2: be a, you know, and for our college football fans
• 8:17
  Speaker 2: out there, like the transfer portal, there's going to be
• 8:19
  Speaker 2: a portal window open for about 48 hours where, you're
• 8:23
  Speaker 2: going to have 1,100 players' names put into this list.
• 8:30
  Speaker 2: And you're going to make your claim on said players.
• 8:32
  Speaker 2: If you feel there's somebody that you wanted, that you
• 8:35
  Speaker 2: couldn't get earlier, that now becomes available, you want to
• 8:39
  Speaker 2: see what their status is, also try and fill out
• 8:42
  Speaker 2: the rest of your 16-player practice squad to get you
• 8:45
  Speaker 2: to 68 players. There's going to be a mad dash
• 8:48
  Speaker 2: and frenzy there for these guys. And so you might
• 8:52
  Speaker 2: have thought you missed him the first time around and
• 8:55
  Speaker 2: that guy becomes available. So, you know, even though you're
• 8:57
  Speaker 2: filling a short-term hole right now because of injury or
• 9:02
  Speaker 2: whatever else, there might come a better option that becomes
• 9:05
  Speaker 2: available as we get down to these final cuts. So
• 9:08
  Speaker 2: you always hold your breath until you get to game day.
• 9:13
  Speaker 2: Week one. Everything is available to you. I've seen guys
• 9:19
  Speaker 2: cut on Saturday and sign another guy and then put
• 9:24
  Speaker 2: him up on Sunday, you know, on the active roster.
• 9:28
  Speaker 2: That happens. And so, you know, it's important to put
• 9:31
  Speaker 2: your best foot forward at all times when given the
• 9:34
  Speaker 2: opportunity because you are auditioning for all 32 teams, not
• 9:38
  Speaker 2: just the one that picked you up or signed you
• 9:41
  Speaker 2: or drafted you. You know, if something goes awry and
• 9:45
  Speaker 2: you don't make the squad or whatever, 31 other teams
• 9:47
  Speaker 2: are going to be looking you know, potentially to see
• 9:50
  Speaker 2: if you're a better fit for what they're trying to
• 9:52
  Speaker 2: do after they've seen what they've seen with their team.
• 9:54
  Speaker 2: So it's a very hot and contested time This next
• 9:58
  Speaker 2: week and a half to two weeks is going to
• 10:02
  Speaker 2: be a mad frenzy after you get through these last
• 10:05
  Speaker 2: games because cuts will start on Friday and end usually
• 10:09
  Speaker 2: about Sunday, but then you have all that extra time,
• 10:12
  Speaker 2: especially with the way that Labor Day falls this year,
• 10:16
  Speaker 2: that extra week, that gap week in there, where, yeah,
• 10:19
  Speaker 2: anything can happen. So really about two and a half weeks.
• 10:21
  Speaker 3: Yeah, and then we bring this up. And by the way,
• 10:23
  Speaker 3: Will Harris was just cut by Washington. There's a guy,
• 10:26
  Speaker 3: a former starter at safety. I mean, every once in
• 10:28
  Speaker 3: a while you look at a move and you're like,
• 10:29
  Speaker 3: wait a minute now. Is somebody going to pick a
• 10:31
  Speaker 3: guy like him up? I mean, he's been a longtime
• 10:33
  Speaker 3: starter in the NFL. I bring this up, Max, and
• 10:37
  Speaker 3: I do really want to get to the things you think,
• 10:40
  Speaker 3: the jobs you think are most on the line, the
• 10:43
  Speaker 3: positions that are most up for grabs going into this
• 10:46
  Speaker 3: final preseason game against the Buffalo Bills. I just, you know,
• 10:49
  Speaker 3: we mentioned earlier in the show, and again, apologize for
• 10:51
  Speaker 3: some technical difficulties we were having and our inability to communicate.
• 10:55
  Speaker 3: But Brandon Hill, you know, former Pitt guy, seventh-round draft
• 10:59
  Speaker 3: choice a couple years ago. He gets signed by the team.
• 11:02
  Speaker 3: We talked about the two moves that the Steelers made yesterday,
• 11:06
  Speaker 3: bringing in Alex Teska, a local guy from Mount Lebanon,
• 11:10
  Speaker 3: and they also brought in defensive back Jalen Gilbo. Brandon Hill, like,
• 11:15
  Speaker 3: you know, How quickly, look, I would imagine if you're
• 11:20
  Speaker 3: these guys and you're signing, you're hoping to get in
• 11:22
  Speaker 3: the game tomorrow night. So you're going to have to
• 11:25
  Speaker 3: get up to speed quickly. And it's different for the
• 11:30
  Speaker 3: veteran guys we just talked about. It's different for Keyshawn Booty.
• 11:33
  Speaker 3: You just traded for him, right? There's not this urgency
• 11:36
  Speaker 3: necessarily to get him into game action. You can get
• 11:39
  Speaker 3: him in through practice. Same thing with a guy like
• 11:42
  Speaker 3: Derek Barnett. You just signed him to a contract. He's
• 11:45
  Speaker 3: barring injury. he's going to be on your roster. Or
• 11:48
  Speaker 3: if you just look at him and like, whoa, man,
• 11:50
  Speaker 3: I can see why you were available on the street, whatever.
• 11:53
  Speaker 3: Barring something really unforeseen, those guys are making the roster.
• 11:57
  Speaker 3: But then there's these other guys that they're just hoping to, what,
• 12:01
  Speaker 3: maybe get an opportunity Thursday night in Buffalo? Can these
• 12:04
  Speaker 3: guys actually get out there with one practice or two
• 12:07
  Speaker 3: practices under their belt and get some action against the Bills? Well,
• 12:18
  Speaker 3: we're going to let that question hang out there because
• 12:20
  Speaker 3: evidently we've lost our connection again. Apologies. We're going to
• 12:24
  Speaker 3: look at some of the key matchups for the Steelers
• 12:27
  Speaker 3: heading into the game Thursday night against the Bills when
• 12:29
  Speaker 3: we continue in the locker room here on the Steelers
• 12:31
  Speaker 3: Audio Network.
• 12:40
  Speaker 1: This is In the Locker Room with King and Starks
• 12:44
  Speaker 1: on Steelers Nation Radio. Presented by your neighborhood Ford store.
• 12:49
  Speaker 1: The F-150 is the official truck of the Pittsburgh Steelers.
• 12:53
  Speaker 1: And by Steelers Pro Shop. Get it direct from the
• 12:56
  Speaker 1: team at the Steelers Pro Shop at shop.steelers.com.
• 13:01
  Speaker 3: And welcome back inside the locker room with Max Starks.
• 13:04
  Speaker 3: I'm Rob King. Max.
• 13:08
  Speaker 2: Are you there, my friend?
• 13:12
  Speaker 3: Ah, well, the technical difficulties.
• 13:15
  Speaker 1: I'm here.
• 13:16
  Speaker 3: Oh, there you are. They have not continued.
• 13:19
  Speaker 2: Now I'm back. I'm back again. I heard it right
• 13:21
  Speaker 2: at the back end.
• 13:22
  Speaker 3: Yeah, so the last question there was for you was,
• 13:25
  Speaker 3: we know that Derek Barnett has been signed to play, right?
• 13:29
  Speaker 3: We know that Keyshawn Booty was traded for to play
• 13:34
  Speaker 3: for the Texans. But these other acquisitions, like, for example,
• 13:39
  Speaker 3: the guys, the Steelers just signed brandon hill the former
• 13:42
  Speaker 3: pit defensive back signing today the guys we talked about
• 13:45
  Speaker 3: yesterday uh gilbo at the defensive back position the local
• 13:49
  Speaker 3: guy alex tesca those guys uh you know signed yesterday
• 13:54
  Speaker 3: can they realistically play on thursday night.
• 13:59
  Speaker 2: I mean i think if you're going to let guys
• 14:01
  Speaker 2: play because remember this isn't a real big game plan
• 14:04
  Speaker 2: week if guys can show basic concepts you understand what
• 14:07
  Speaker 2: quarters coverage is you understand what two man is you
• 14:10
  Speaker 2: understand what cover three is you know one zero the
• 14:15
  Speaker 2: coverages are basic so it's all about really competing i
• 14:19
  Speaker 2: think you know teams stay vanilla so you keep clear
• 14:22
  Speaker 2: concepts i think defensively it's easier to plug and play
• 14:24
  Speaker 2: a guy than offensively just because the jargon can get
• 14:28
  Speaker 2: a little bit more um you know bogged down if
• 14:33
  Speaker 2: you're if you're a receiver coming in especially if you
• 14:36
  Speaker 2: know it's like mike mccarthy says you at the receiver position,
• 14:40
  Speaker 2: I think you have to assume, you know, that a
• 14:43
  Speaker 2: receiver running back would have a tougher time. Offensive lineman
• 14:47
  Speaker 2: may or may not. Tight ends potentially. So, you know,
• 14:51
  Speaker 2: I would say defensively pretty easy to come in and
• 14:54
  Speaker 2: put your hand in the pile and get some quality
• 14:56
  Speaker 2: reps in.
• 14:59
  Speaker 3: Max, what are the biggest positions you're looking at? I mean,
• 15:02
  Speaker 3: who's still– right now, if you put pen to paper–
• 15:08
  Speaker 3: Do you think you could come up with a really
• 15:12
  Speaker 3: close or maybe even right on the money Steelers 53-man roster?
• 15:20
  Speaker 2: I feel like I would be at 80% accuracy, 80-85% accuracy.
• 15:25
  Speaker 2: I think there's a couple of positions that might be
• 15:28
  Speaker 2: a little bit off. What are you thinking?
• 15:30
  Speaker 3: I think you could get 90 or better. I don't
• 15:32
  Speaker 3: think there's more than three or four spots– available going
• 15:39
  Speaker 3: into this last game. And I'm not sure if there
• 15:43
  Speaker 3: is more than one spot available for starting. I'm not
• 15:54
  Speaker 3: sure that that is the, if you're starting 22, right. And,
• 15:58
  Speaker 3: and we look, we know who the long snapper is
• 16:00
  Speaker 3: going to be. We know who the punter is going
• 16:02
  Speaker 3: to be. We know what the kicker is going to
• 16:03
  Speaker 3: be again, knock on wood, barring injury. We know who
• 16:06
  Speaker 3: those guys are going to be. Um, I think we
• 16:09
  Speaker 3: know who the quarterback's going to be. We know who
• 16:12
  Speaker 3: the running back 1 and 1A are going to be.
• 16:15
  Speaker 3: We know who the two starting receivers are going to be.
• 16:18
  Speaker 3: We know who the 1 and 1A at tight end
• 16:21
  Speaker 3: are going to be. I think we have a pretty
• 16:23
  Speaker 3: good idea at left tackle, left guard, center. I think
• 16:28
  Speaker 3: we have a pretty good idea at right guard. Again,
• 16:31
  Speaker 3: that could potentially be an area of concern. If you're
• 16:35
  Speaker 3: Spencer Anderson, you want to come out and put your
• 16:37
  Speaker 3: best foot forward for sure. You don't want to leave
• 16:39
  Speaker 3: any doubt. As I look at the offense, I think
• 16:43
  Speaker 3: it's right tackle, Max. I don't think it's– and that's–
• 16:47
  Speaker 3: I'm just talking about strictly now starting spot, right? Like,
• 16:51
  Speaker 3: I don't think there's a single spot. Well, defense, maybe
• 16:55
  Speaker 3: you could argue inside linebacker. I think that'll be more
• 16:58
  Speaker 3: off the ball linebacker. That's the invoke thing to call
• 17:01
  Speaker 3: it now. I think that, you know, that could be
• 17:04
  Speaker 3: a matter of schematics or opponent or that kind of thing.
• 17:08
  Speaker 3: But as I look at this team and I look
• 17:09
  Speaker 3: at this roster, if the guys get healthy, Jalen Ramsey,
• 17:13
  Speaker 3: Jaquan Brisker, hopefully you get Joey Porter Jr. out there.
• 17:17
  Speaker 3: But as I look at this offense, I only see
• 17:21
  Speaker 3: right tackle. That's it. I don't think anything else as
• 17:24
  Speaker 3: far as a starting spot is up for grabs.
• 17:30
  Speaker 2: Yeah, I think right tackle is the only one. Right tackle,
• 17:34
  Speaker 2: I think, is up for grabs, I think. Right guard
• 17:37
  Speaker 2: is almost solidified. And I think after that, you're now
• 17:41
  Speaker 2: debating the support players, right? The second string guys, the
• 17:45
  Speaker 2: starters and waiting, however you want to list them. I
• 17:48
  Speaker 2: think that's where you look at the depth of your team.
• 17:50
  Speaker 2: There's probably about four positions that I think you're like, OK,
• 17:54
  Speaker 2: it could go either way. And will this last game
• 17:57
  Speaker 2: be the determining factor for who the fourth, as you said,
• 18:01
  Speaker 2: off the ball inside linebacker? Who's that going to be?
• 18:04
  Speaker 2: Who's the fourth outside backer? Who's going to be the
• 18:08
  Speaker 2: sixth defensive lineman? And who's going to be that fourth safety?
• 18:13
  Speaker 2: I think those are the questions on the defensive side
• 18:15
  Speaker 2: of the ball. Offensively, I think we're pretty good, but
• 18:19
  Speaker 2: you still don't know who the third running back is
• 18:21
  Speaker 2: going to be for this team. It'll be four guys
• 18:24
  Speaker 2: in the backfield because you count Riley Nowakowski, who I
• 18:27
  Speaker 2: think has cemented himself as the fullback, but who is
• 18:30
  Speaker 2: going to be that third running back by designation. I
• 18:33
  Speaker 2: think we have a pretty good idea of who the
• 18:35
  Speaker 2: three tight ends are going to be going into the season.
• 18:38
  Speaker 2: Six wide receiver. That's going to be the other question.
• 18:42
  Speaker 2: Who is that sixth guy? I think that's where we
• 18:45
  Speaker 2: are at. Let's chop up the offense in here.
• 18:49
  Speaker 3: I suspect that Dylan Cook is going to play, and
• 18:53
  Speaker 3: I suspect he's going to get first-team reps, and I
• 18:56
  Speaker 3: suspect that Broderick Jones is going to come in behind him.
• 19:00
  Speaker 3: And so... it feels like Dylan Cook, to me, has
• 19:04
  Speaker 3: first opportunity to try to win the job. Would you
• 19:08
  Speaker 3: agree with that?
• 19:11
  Speaker 2: Yeah, I would agree. That's been, I think, since the
• 19:13
  Speaker 2: beginning of camp.
• 19:14
  Speaker 3: Okay, and again, I don't know. We have a new
• 19:17
  Speaker 3: coaching staff. Is the door open for Max Ahanachor? I
• 19:21
  Speaker 3: don't know. Can Broderick Jones come in? Maybe he's had
• 19:26
  Speaker 3: a couple of great days of practice and And something's clicked.
• 19:29
  Speaker 3: I don't know the behind-the-scenes stuff. I don't know the
• 19:31
  Speaker 3: communication that's going on. But I think that's the one
• 19:35
  Speaker 3: starting spot on offense that's up for grabs. It appears
• 19:39
  Speaker 3: as if Dylan Cook still has the inside track. The
• 19:42
  Speaker 3: division of labor, how guys are out there, how they
• 19:44
  Speaker 3: look together, that's going to be a big one on
• 19:47
  Speaker 3: Thursday night. I think it's the biggest one. on the
• 19:50
  Speaker 3: entire team. That's my opinion. Okay, let's move to that
• 19:56
  Speaker 3: next running back position because we know it's going to
• 19:58
  Speaker 3: be Warren. We know it's going to be Dowdle. Again,
• 20:01
  Speaker 3: we're playing the roster game. I think it's going to be,
• 20:03
  Speaker 3: I mean, I don't see anything that Riley Nowakowski's done
• 20:07
  Speaker 3: that wouldn't put him on the roster. I think that
• 20:09
  Speaker 3: they like his special teams acumen as well. And so
• 20:12
  Speaker 3: now it comes down to who is that next running back? Now,
• 20:17
  Speaker 3: if you're asking me to scratch a name down right
• 20:20
  Speaker 3: now as the fourth running back, including the fullback, I'm
• 20:24
  Speaker 3: putting in Travis Homer. But I don't know that for
• 20:27
  Speaker 3: a fact. You know, Travis played late in the game
• 20:31
  Speaker 3: against the Jets. Is that because they wanted to give
• 20:34
  Speaker 3: other guys the opportunity? They already knew what he had?
• 20:38
  Speaker 3: Or is it because... It is open competition. I don't
• 20:42
  Speaker 3: know the answer to that. We haven't been around Mike
• 20:44
  Speaker 3: McCarthy enough to know, you know, to try to read
• 20:48
  Speaker 3: the tea leaves on what playing time means. So I
• 20:53
  Speaker 3: would put down Travis Homer right now, but I think
• 20:56
  Speaker 3: that's one of those, when you talk about 90%, you know,
• 20:59
  Speaker 3: I think we got three out of four, which is 75%.
• 21:02
  Speaker 3: I think my fourth would be Travis Homer, but I'm
• 21:07
  Speaker 3: putting that in pencil because I just don't know. Is
• 21:15
  Speaker 3: it possible we've lost Max Starks again? It is possible
• 21:18
  Speaker 3: we've lost Max Starks again. Okay, so I will soldier
• 21:21
  Speaker 3: on and get to the last position, and we will
• 21:24
  Speaker 3: get Max back for you to kind of cement this
• 21:26
  Speaker 3: conversation and talk about what he thinks as well.
• 21:31
  Speaker 2: Excuse me.
• 21:31
  Speaker 3: So, again, Thursday night football game, all the practice, OTAs, drafts, signings, everything,
• 21:38
  Speaker 3: one more game, and then the cutdowns come on Sunday.
• 21:41
  Speaker 3: And I think we can all look at the wide
• 21:42
  Speaker 3: receiver position. and say DK Metcalf, lock. Michael Pittman, lock.
• 21:47
  Speaker 3: Jeremy Bernard, third-round pick, lock. I don't see anything that
• 21:51
  Speaker 3: Ben Skoranek has not done. He's got a contract. He's
• 21:53
  Speaker 3: an excellent special teams player. I think he's going to
• 21:56
  Speaker 3: be a lock. Oh, Max, okay, you're back. Quick comment
• 21:59
  Speaker 3: on the running back position. Are you leaning with me, Travis, Homer,
• 22:03
  Speaker 3: and Pencil right now, or do you have them in ink,
• 22:05
  Speaker 3: or do you have somebody else?
• 22:09
  Speaker 2: You know, what's funny is I actually have Homer and
• 22:12
  Speaker 2: Pencil in, And I actually have a surprising one. I'm
• 22:16
  Speaker 2: thinking maybe Heidenreich might also be in pencil right behind
• 22:19
  Speaker 2: Travis Homer. Interesting.
• 22:21
  Speaker 3: Okay.
• 22:22
  Speaker 2: I just think because of the special teams capabilities, Eli's
• 22:26
  Speaker 2: on all the teams. He's a returner as well, lead
• 22:29
  Speaker 2: kick returner. So I have him slotted in there as well.
• 22:33
  Speaker 2: I know Travis Homer is a personal protector, and that
• 22:38
  Speaker 2: is a very important position in special teams. But could
• 22:41
  Speaker 2: Eli Heidenreich play personal protectors? I don't know. I'm just saying.
• 22:45
  Speaker 2: So I have both those guys penciled in there as
• 22:48
  Speaker 2: 3A and 3B. Okay. All right.
• 22:51
  Speaker 3: So, again, we don't know for sure, but we're just
• 22:56
  Speaker 3: looking at the things that we think are potential battles.
• 22:59
  Speaker 3: So going into Thursday night, you think that's a potential battle?
• 23:04
  Speaker 2: I do.
• 23:04
  Speaker 3: I do. I think that is.
• 23:06
  Speaker 2: Okay. It'll be interesting to see how they disseminate the reps.
• 23:09
  Speaker 3: One more position on offense that we want to get
• 23:11
  Speaker 3: to before we turn our attention. in the final block
• 23:14
  Speaker 3: to the defensive side of the ball, and that is
• 23:16
  Speaker 3: wide receiver, where, as I was just going through, Max,
• 23:20
  Speaker 3: and thank you for, again, being patient for everybody who's
• 23:22
  Speaker 3: been listening to the show through the technical difficulties that
• 23:25
  Speaker 3: we've had. DK Metcalf, Michael Pittman, Jeremy Bernard, Ben Skoranek, right?
• 23:32
  Speaker 3: I think I'm putting those guys down in ink.
• 23:35
  Speaker 2: Safe. Okay. Safe.
• 23:37
  Speaker 3: Then it comes to Caden Weegin, who I've got I
• 23:43
  Speaker 3: think that's ink for me. I think he's going to
• 23:48
  Speaker 3: be on the roster. You know, I mean, he's been
• 23:50
  Speaker 3: their primary return guy. You know, Mike McCarthy said some
• 23:56
  Speaker 3: things that indicate that he wants more out of him
• 24:00
  Speaker 3: during some of the press conferences or that I've taken
• 24:03
  Speaker 3: to think that he wants something more out of him.
• 24:05
  Speaker 3: And I think, you know, Roman Wilson is that sixth guy.
• 24:09
  Speaker 3: But right now I'm uncertain. I mean, I think it's
• 24:12
  Speaker 3: going to be Roman. But I've got it in pencil
• 24:14
  Speaker 3: only because of the discussions of did he run the
• 24:16
  Speaker 3: wrong route and all this other stuff. And, you know,
• 24:20
  Speaker 3: you can't have that in the regular season, right? Like, okay,
• 24:23
  Speaker 3: so now is this a coaching moment, something you can
• 24:25
  Speaker 3: clean up? Is this something that's a continuation of other issues?
• 24:28
  Speaker 2: I don't know.
• 24:29
  Speaker 3: I don't know what it is. And, again, new staff,
• 24:32
  Speaker 3: don't know how to read the tea leaves. To me,
• 24:35
  Speaker 3: if I was going to have a guy in pencil
• 24:37
  Speaker 3: behind him, my guy would be Max Hurdleman. because of
• 24:42
  Speaker 3: some of the things you just talked about with Eli Heidenreich.
• 24:44
  Speaker 3: We've seen Max Hurdleman back there in the return game.
• 24:48
  Speaker 3: And so you have Caden Weege and, okay, well, who
• 24:50
  Speaker 3: else do you have? Now, look, I know that Dowdle
• 24:53
  Speaker 3: and Jalen Warren can return kicks and kickoffs, and they
• 24:55
  Speaker 3: probably will when we get into the regular season. But,
• 24:59
  Speaker 3: you know, Max Hurdleman is a guy who, you know,
• 25:02
  Speaker 3: and again, he had three catches, 46 yards last week.
• 25:06
  Speaker 3: He's done nothing to hurt himself in the receiving game.
• 25:09
  Speaker 3: I think he's looked pretty good. So I've got Max
• 25:12
  Speaker 3: Hertelman in pencil, and I think he's competing for a spot.
• 25:19
  Speaker 2: Yeah, no, I think he's very much so. But I
• 25:22
  Speaker 2: would probably have him as saying– I would say this
• 25:25
  Speaker 2: is it's between Max and Roman for that sixth spot.
• 25:29
  Speaker 3: That's what I think.
• 25:29
  Speaker 2: I would be bold enough to say that. Okay. And
• 25:31
  Speaker 2: I think what Max has as something a little bit
• 25:35
  Speaker 2: ahead of Roman is who is our backup punt returner?
• 25:38
  Speaker 1: Yeah.
• 25:38
  Speaker 3: Right.
• 25:40
  Speaker 2: Right. That was a question coming into game one. Who
• 25:44
  Speaker 2: is going to be the backup punt returner if Caden
• 25:46
  Speaker 2: Weijan can't go? And the only person I've seen is
• 25:48
  Speaker 2: Max Hurlman. Right.
• 25:51
  Speaker 3: Now that means he has to be active on game day, right?
• 25:54
  Speaker 3: Or just you get through the game with somebody else
• 25:58
  Speaker 3: and then you put him out there the next game.
• 26:02
  Speaker 3: But then if it's that kind of player, you could
• 26:04
  Speaker 3: have that guy in a practice squad.
• 26:06
  Speaker 2: You know what I mean?
• 26:07
  Speaker 3: So that comes into play as well.
• 26:10
  Speaker 2: Yeah, it comes into play as well, but the question is,
• 26:14
  Speaker 2: how well is he being looked at by other people?
• 26:16
  Speaker 3: Right, that's right.
• 26:19
  Speaker 2: The strategery, as Wolf would say, has to come in
• 26:22
  Speaker 2: there somehow. And there is a strategy that has to
• 26:25
  Speaker 2: go into play.
• 26:26
  Speaker 3: Yep, I think both quarterbacks want to perform well. Right now,
• 26:29
  Speaker 3: if I'm playing the roster game, Max, I think all
• 26:32
  Speaker 3: four quarterbacks are going to make it, and I think
• 26:35
  Speaker 3: that is going to mean one of your offensive linemen.
• 26:39
  Speaker 3: And I'd like to keep all 10 on your two deep.
• 26:43
  Speaker 3: And again, the two deep is Fautano, Locke, McCormick, Locke, Frazier, Locke, Anderson,
• 26:48
  Speaker 3: I think Locke. Jennings, Dunker is a young guy, Locke.
• 26:54
  Speaker 3: Max Ahanachor, to me, that's a Locke, obviously. And then it's,
• 26:58
  Speaker 3: you know, I think Brock Hoffman is close to that
• 27:02
  Speaker 3: category as a guy who can play center and guard.
• 27:05
  Speaker 3: And so, you know, you have Dylan Cook, You have
• 27:08
  Speaker 3: Broderick Jones. You have Ryan McCollum. I want to keep
• 27:10
  Speaker 3: all 10. And then there's other guys, Jones, Nestor, Crippen, Driscoll.
• 27:15
  Speaker 3: They're still on the roster, still fighting for spots. But
• 27:18
  Speaker 3: I think one of those offensive linemen, Max, I think
• 27:20
  Speaker 3: there's a battle there, too. I think one of them,
• 27:22
  Speaker 3: one of those guys is not going to be on
• 27:25
  Speaker 3: the 53-man roster on Sunday.
• 27:29
  Speaker 2: I think you're absolutely right. I mean, it really depends
• 27:31
  Speaker 2: on how well Max Iannacciore kind of progresses through this week,
• 27:36
  Speaker 2: and if he's able to go or not go, you know,
• 27:39
  Speaker 2: then it would say, you know, let you know whether
• 27:43
  Speaker 2: it's a Broderick or Dillon situation or a Brock versus
• 27:47
  Speaker 2: Ryan situation as far as McCollum versus Hoffman. And, you know,
• 27:53
  Speaker 2: how that shapes up, because I think that's where the
• 27:55
  Speaker 2: question marks would be. If the rookie's ready enough, he
• 27:59
  Speaker 2: takes that spot, then you only get one of those
• 28:01
  Speaker 2: two guys. Or you only get one of the two
• 28:04
  Speaker 2: between McCollum and Hoffman. So somebody's going to be the
• 28:08
  Speaker 2: odd man out. It's just whether it's at the tackle
• 28:10
  Speaker 2: position or the swing interior center guard body type position.
• 28:14
  Speaker 2: That's really going to determine how we get to that nine.
• 28:17
  Speaker 3: Yep. So again, here we are. And I don't know
• 28:21
  Speaker 3: what percentage we're at. You said 75, 80 percent. And
• 28:23
  Speaker 3: I said 90. We might be. But again, it depends
• 28:28
  Speaker 3: upon whether we're right or not. That's what we don't know, right?
• 28:31
  Speaker 3: But we have some uncertainty.
• 28:31
  Speaker 2: Yeah, exactly.
• 28:32
  Speaker 3: That's where it comes in. We have some uncertainty. All right,
• 28:35
  Speaker 3: so we're going to look at the defensive side of
• 28:36
  Speaker 3: the ball. There's one guy in particular that I think
• 28:39
  Speaker 3: has just absolutely earned a spot and is going to
• 28:42
  Speaker 3: be on this roster, and they're going to have to
• 28:44
  Speaker 3: find a way, I think, to put him on there,
• 28:46
  Speaker 3: but we'll see. No one in the front office is
• 28:50
  Speaker 3: speed dialing me to get my opinion on it, but
• 28:52
  Speaker 3: I do have an opinion on it, and I want
• 28:54
  Speaker 3: to share it with you. And Max has got some
• 28:56
  Speaker 3: opinions he wants to share with you on the defensive
• 28:58
  Speaker 3: side of the ball as well as we continue to
• 29:00
  Speaker 3: get you ready for the Steelers and Bills coming up
• 29:02
  Speaker 3: on Thursday night in the locker room here on the
• 29:04
  Speaker 3: Steelers Audio Network.
• 29:11
  Speaker 1: This is In the Locker Room with King and Starks
• 29:14
  Speaker 1: on Steelers Nation Radio. Presented by your neighborhood Ford store.
• 29:19
  Speaker 1: The F-150 is the official truck of the Pittsburgh Steelers.
• 29:23
  Speaker 1: And by Steelers Pro Shop. Get it direct from the
• 29:26
  Speaker 1: team at the Steelers Pro Shop at shop.steelers.com.
• 29:30
  Speaker 3: All right.
• 29:31
  Speaker 2: We know what time it is. It's the Bell Lab.
• 29:36
  Speaker 2: It's now officially the late lunch bell of the day.
• 29:45
  Speaker 2: I don't know if that's like a finishing bell, but
• 29:50
  Speaker 2: it is definitely one that we will still honor in
• 29:53
  Speaker 2: this show and its history, and I'm not sure if
• 29:55
  Speaker 2: anybody can hear me right now.
• 29:57
  Speaker 3: I got you, Max. Max, can you hear me?
• 30:01
  Speaker 2: Nope.
• 30:04
  Speaker 3: Okay, well, we appreciate Max getting the bell app going
• 30:08
  Speaker 3: for us as we trundle through to the rest of this,
• 30:13
  Speaker 3: what has been a little bit of a challenging program
• 30:16
  Speaker 3: here in the locker room. We will get everything smoothed
• 30:18
  Speaker 3: out as we turn the corner next week and start
• 30:20
  Speaker 3: getting you ready for the regular season with the Steelers
• 30:23
  Speaker 3: playing week one against Atlanta. Full week of practice, roster
• 30:27
  Speaker 3: cuts and roster designations will all be done On Sunday, again,
• 30:33
  Speaker 3: with the idea that teams will be picking around, looking
• 30:36
  Speaker 3: for other potential players, maybe some trades happen, who knows.
• 30:40
  Speaker 3: You would think that the Steelers have some guys that
• 30:42
  Speaker 3: other teams might want. Do they have an excess tackle?
• 30:46
  Speaker 3: And could they make a trade? And would a team
• 30:49
  Speaker 3: be able to give them something that they want? And
• 30:52
  Speaker 3: of course, we spent more time yesterday at the quarterback position,
• 30:57
  Speaker 3: but one more one more really interesting opportunity to get
• 31:02
  Speaker 3: a look at these two young quarterbacks and can one
• 31:04
  Speaker 3: of them be the Steelers quarterback of the future. Because
• 31:08
  Speaker 3: if things go well for the Steelers, we will not
• 31:11
  Speaker 3: see either one of these quarterbacks the rest of this
• 31:14
  Speaker 3: year unless you were able to get into a position
• 31:18
  Speaker 3: where you had a division sewed up, your seating was
• 31:23
  Speaker 3: sewed up, there was nothing to play for, then maybe
• 31:26
  Speaker 3: one of the guys or both of the young guys
• 31:29
  Speaker 3: perhaps would get some playing time. So, Max, as we
• 31:32
  Speaker 3: look at this, and nice to have you back, and
• 31:35
  Speaker 3: great enthusiasm with the bell lap, Max. Great enthusiasm.
• 31:40
  Speaker 2: Loved it. I appreciate that. I'm glad that you felt
• 31:44
  Speaker 2: the energy that I was trying to bring.
• 31:46
  Speaker 3: I did, and I appreciate it.
• 31:48
  Speaker 2: To the bell lap.
• 31:49
  Speaker 3: So, we have been talking about Robert Spears Jennings for
• 31:55
  Speaker 3: really a lot of camp. Max, I just... you know,
• 31:58
  Speaker 3: as I look at this roster, we're, you know, sort
• 32:01
  Speaker 3: of playing the roster game, and, you know, who's going
• 32:04
  Speaker 3: to be on the roster, who has, you know, has
• 32:06
  Speaker 3: a young guy sort of forced himself onto the roster
• 32:10
  Speaker 3: from that outside picture. I think, you know, if you
• 32:13
  Speaker 3: want to call Riley Nowakowski a little bit later in
• 32:16
  Speaker 3: the draft as a guy who's forced himself in, I
• 32:19
  Speaker 3: think he's done that on offense. I think Robert Spears
• 32:21
  Speaker 3: Jennings has done that on defense. I would be surprised
• 32:26
  Speaker 3: if he is not on This is a 53-man roster.
• 32:32
  Speaker 2: It would be tough. It would be tough to hold
• 32:35
  Speaker 2: him off. I think he is the fourth safety as
• 32:38
  Speaker 2: it stands right now. If I'm looking at it and
• 32:41
  Speaker 2: I'm reading tea leaves and, you know, trying to throw
• 32:46
  Speaker 2: the bones in and, you know, work on some hoodoo,
• 32:51
  Speaker 2: I think he makes it. I think, you know, you
• 32:53
  Speaker 2: go Deshaun, Jaquan, Rayshon, Robert. Sounds awkward. Everything else had
• 33:00
  Speaker 2: an on at the end of theirs except for his.
• 33:04
  Speaker 2: I think that's how I look at it. I think
• 33:06
  Speaker 2: he's played himself, especially after Izzy McQuammo goes on IR.
• 33:11
  Speaker 2: You know, I think Robert Spears Jennings is that fourth
• 33:14
  Speaker 2: safety for us. And now the question is, do you
• 33:17
  Speaker 2: go with a fourth safety? Do you go with the
• 33:20
  Speaker 2: 6 DB? Or do you consider Jalen Ramsey your fourth safety?
• 33:24
  Speaker 2: Because he's a do-it-all Swiss Army knife. that is going
• 33:28
  Speaker 2: to be a very intriguing question. And that's where, you know,
• 33:32
  Speaker 2: the division of positional labor is a big deal. But
• 33:39
  Speaker 2: I would say he's squarely at least at number four
• 33:41
  Speaker 2: right now. Yep.
• 33:42
  Speaker 3: I think it's going to be, I mean, I've got
• 33:45
  Speaker 3: four safeties. Again, just kind of going off the top
• 33:49
  Speaker 3: of my mind here. I think that we also have,
• 33:53
  Speaker 3: I think it's going to be six defensive linemen. And
• 33:56
  Speaker 3: I do think, that you're looking at Gabe Rubio. Again,
• 34:02
  Speaker 3: he's a late guy. Could he potentially be moved on
• 34:06
  Speaker 3: to the practice squad? Has he shown enough to be
• 34:08
  Speaker 3: part of the 53-man roster? You have a couple of
• 34:11
  Speaker 3: veteran guys like Dean Lowry and Asasia Tomeiwo, I think
• 34:14
  Speaker 3: in particular, who are also battling for that sixth defensive
• 34:18
  Speaker 3: line spot. I do think that is one to keep
• 34:21
  Speaker 3: an eye on on Thursday night.
• 34:25
  Speaker 2: No, I completely agree. I think it really comes down to,
• 34:30
  Speaker 2: you know, three or four guys on that defensive line
• 34:33
  Speaker 2: that are fighting for their legitimacy. And, you know, some
• 34:37
  Speaker 2: guys are known guys to the organization and to Steeler fans.
• 34:45
  Speaker 2: And there's, you know, like I said, there's the new faces.
• 34:47
  Speaker 2: There's a fresh approach. So, you know, Otome Wo has
• 34:51
  Speaker 2: been a consistent contributor, did it on Sundays last year
• 34:54
  Speaker 2: for us. We were in a pinch with injuries. Came in,
• 34:58
  Speaker 2: acquitted himself well. Has done the same thing, I think,
• 35:01
  Speaker 2: in this preseason. Just been consistent. Hasn't been wow, but
• 35:05
  Speaker 2: it's also been like, okay, this guy does his job.
• 35:08
  Speaker 2: He gets in there. He's in and around the football
• 35:11
  Speaker 2: when you freeze the frame. That's what you could ask
• 35:13
  Speaker 2: for for a defensive lineman. And then, of course, Gabe Rubio, right?
• 35:16
  Speaker 2: The intrigue factor. The value. The explosiveness that he showed
• 35:22
  Speaker 2: in week one. Well, teams kind of got a little
• 35:24
  Speaker 2: bit of a beat on them, took a little step back.
• 35:26
  Speaker 2: That's rookie behavior. You know, it's going to happen. It's
• 35:29
  Speaker 2: not going to be turned on every single game, every
• 35:31
  Speaker 2: single snap, you know, but you have to adjust. How
• 35:34
  Speaker 2: fast can you adjust is going to be the question
• 35:37
  Speaker 2: for Gabe Rubio. And, you know, as we look through,
• 35:41
  Speaker 2: Dean Lowry, steady Eddie veteran, been doing it a very,
• 35:44
  Speaker 2: very long time. Mike McCarthy knows him as well, but,
• 35:50
  Speaker 2: you know, Is the value worth it? He is an
• 35:53
  Speaker 2: older guy. He does command more space on your salary
• 35:57
  Speaker 2: cap if you do keep him through week one, and
• 35:58
  Speaker 2: then he's guaranteed the whole season. So do you stick
• 36:01
  Speaker 2: with that tried, true, tested veteran? Or do you go
• 36:05
  Speaker 2: with a Kyler Ball or Anthony Goodloe? Young guys, high energy,
• 36:09
  Speaker 2: hot and cold up and down, but they give you
• 36:12
  Speaker 2: splash plays. So there's a lot to be desired. I
• 36:17
  Speaker 2: think most of the positions are sewn up. On a
• 36:19
  Speaker 2: defensive line, and especially with the second level, but there's
• 36:22
  Speaker 2: maybe one or two questions. Who's the backup nose? Or
• 36:26
  Speaker 2: truly that sixth guy? Because I think we know where Keanu, Ben,
• 36:30
  Speaker 2: and Sebastian Joseph, they fall in that, right? They're going
• 36:32
  Speaker 2: to be on the edges. So they create the border.
• 36:35
  Speaker 2: So now it's up to the team to figure out
• 36:37
  Speaker 2: who that last spot's going to be. Or is that
• 36:39
  Speaker 2: last spot not even on this roster? That's the other question.
• 36:42
  Speaker 3: That's exactly right.
• 36:43
  Speaker 2: We're making all these assumptions. Could be somebody out there
• 36:46
  Speaker 2: in free agency that they want.
• 36:47
  Speaker 3: And I think there's a couple of other guys that
• 36:49
  Speaker 3: we're looking at. You know, look, Danico Slaughter has been
• 36:52
  Speaker 3: out there from snap one for the first couple weeks.
• 36:54
  Speaker 3: He's been getting starter reps and playing with the starters.
• 36:58
  Speaker 3: That tells you, I think, something about what they think
• 37:02
  Speaker 3: about Danico Slaughter. Jamin Davis has made a little bit
• 37:06
  Speaker 3: of noise more in week one than in week two.
• 37:10
  Speaker 3: Is he a guy? But again, I think your four
• 37:13
  Speaker 3: outside linebackers, Herbig, Watt, Sawyer, Highsmith, they're sewed up. How
• 37:18
  Speaker 3: many interior linebackers are you going to keep? I have
• 37:22
  Speaker 3: a hard time thinking you're not going to keep at
• 37:24
  Speaker 3: least five. And so some guys are, you know, you're
• 37:27
  Speaker 3: looking for ways to squeeze guys on the roster based
• 37:32
  Speaker 3: on their performance. And yet it's going to be so
• 37:34
  Speaker 3: hard to squeeze guys off of this roster, Max. So,
• 37:38
  Speaker 3: you know, that's kind of the way I look at it. Again,
• 37:40
  Speaker 3: I think most of the spots are filled. But I think,
• 37:45
  Speaker 3: you know, could there be room? Look, there's always the
• 37:47
  Speaker 3: possibility of injury. There's always the possibility of trade. There's
• 37:50
  Speaker 3: always the possibility of trade because you like one of
• 37:52
  Speaker 3: the guys that we just mentioned enough that you can
• 37:55
  Speaker 3: trade somebody away and maybe get some value for the
• 37:57
  Speaker 3: future and potentially still have some depth that you can
• 38:02
  Speaker 3: add to the practice squad. So a lot to play
• 38:05
  Speaker 3: for on Thursday night, Max, and I'm looking forward to
• 38:08
  Speaker 3: getting after it, my friend.
• 38:11
  Speaker 2: I look forward to it as well, Rob, and You know,
• 38:14
  Speaker 2: this is the fun part of it. This is the
• 38:16
  Speaker 2: next step. And when you get to see this last opportunity,
• 38:22
  Speaker 2: you know, this is, for some guys, this is a
• 38:26
  Speaker 2: short goodbye. For others, it's until we meet again. But
• 38:29
  Speaker 2: hopefully it's welcome to the family. That's kind of how
• 38:32
  Speaker 2: you have to see it. And, you know, this is
• 38:35
  Speaker 2: a great chance. In a new stadium in Buffalo, which
• 38:38
  Speaker 2: we'll get to peruse, we'll give you our full thoughts
• 38:40
  Speaker 2: about that on Friday and Monday. Yes, looking forward to that,
• 38:43
  Speaker 2: for sure. But, yeah, it's going to be a fun time.
• 38:49
  Speaker 3: So, Max, I can't wait to see the new stadium.
• 38:53
  Speaker 3: Can't wait to see you again, my friend, along with
• 38:55
  Speaker 3: Willie Colon, who joined us today in the locker room.
• 38:58
  Speaker 3: Thank you for bearing with us today. It was a
• 39:00
  Speaker 3: bit of a challenge. Got through it. Looking forward to
• 39:03
  Speaker 3: Thursday night and then looking forward to reconvening in the
• 39:06
  Speaker 3: locker room next Monday. For Max Starks, for Justin Miller
• 39:09
  Speaker 3: at Outer Controls, in the iHeart Studio, I'm Rob King.
• 39:12
  Speaker 3: We will see you on Thursday night. Thanks for being
• 39:14
  Speaker 3: with us in the locker room here on the Steelers
• 39:16
  Speaker 3: Audio Network.