The Pittsburgh Steelers have two weeks left to turn a 90-man roster into 53 players, and with two preseason games remaining, the competition for those final spots is only getting tighter. With more players making legitimate cases than there are roster spots available, Mike McCarthy revealed what will ultimately separate the players who make the team from those who don\u2019t.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs we get into these battles that are going on at each position, it\u2019s important for our players to be able to play all four downs,\u201d McCarthy said before Sunday\u2019s training camp practice<\/a>. \u201cI think everybody\u2019s excited about draft picks and this and that, but your value to play on special teams and offense and defense is important. You have to be able to play on offense, defense, and special teams.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t like to keep a guy that\u2019s just special teams or a guy that\u2019s just on offense unless his contract and his level [warrants it].\u201d<\/p>\n He noted RB Travis Homer as an example of somebody capable of wearing both hats. The veteran has primarily been a special teamer in the league, but the Steelers had him as the first running back on the field for their preseason opener with Rico Dowdle and Jaylen Warren sitting out.<\/p>\n This doesn\u2019t guarantee Homer a roster spot, but it sounds like bad news for Kaleb Johnson. He played just five offensive snaps and three on special teams Thursday night. Both numbers need to go up significantly in the remaining preseason games if the 2025 third-round pick has any hope of making the cut<\/a>.<\/p>\n Most of the roster is already decided, with just four or five spots truly up for grabs. Do the Steelers keep a fifth inside linebacker? Who is the odd man out at safety and running back? And will they really roster four quarterbacks?<\/p>\n One of the most intriguing decisions will come at safety, where rookie Robert Spears-Jennings is competing against Rayshawn Jenkins and Sebastian Castro. There may only be room for one, and the snap counts from the preseason opener spell trouble for the rookie. While Spears-Jennings played 36 snaps on defense, including with the starters, he only logged three on special teams. Castro played 12 special teams snaps while Jenkins played six.<\/p>\n