The Pittsburgh Steelers are going all-in on winning in 2020. Despite starting the offseason with almost no salary cap space, Pittsburgh found a way to get their roster in order with minimal losses. With a tremendous amount of uncertainty still around what training camp and the season is going to look like. roster decisions are going to a whole different challenge.
Here are three guys who could end up being replaced in the starting lineup you might not be thinking about.
RB James Conner
We all love the story of Conner. His journey to the NFL is destined for an ESPN 30for30 and there’s no denying his fan appeal. But the combination of mounting injury concerns and pending free agency could really hurt him this season. The Steelers have guys like Benny Snell Jr. and Anthony McFarland Jr. just waiting for their opportunity. Both players add a dynamic to the offense Conner cannot.
S Terrell Edmunds
Before we go too far into this, understand Edmunds wasn’t as bad as his biggest critics would portray him to be. He was second on the team in total tackles trailing only linebacker Devin Bush. But the addition of Antoine Brooks Jr. through the 2020 NFL draft complicates things for Edmunds. Brooks brings a more rounded skillset and would give Pittsburgh more freedom and that includes potentially helping Minkah Fitzpatrick.
OT Alejandro Villanueva
The Steelers are preparing for a positional battle at right tackle. If we assume Matt Feiler is going to slide inside and start at left guard, it will come down to Zach Banner and Chuks Okorafor winning the job. But taking it a step further, if both guys play well enough, the coaches might look to upgrade both tackle spots the year after the offensive line really struggled.
