Pittsburgh Steelers 53-man roster prediction: Preseason Week 4 Edition

The Pittsburgh Steelers are 1-3 in the 2015 preseason, and after a thorough beat down at the hands of the Buffalo Bills Saturday, the majority of the team's roster will turn their attention to the New England Patriots and the regular season. As for those players still hoping to keep their NFL dreams alive, they are just hoping to make it through the first round of cuts on September 1st when teams have to get their rosters cut from 90 to 75 by 4:00 p.m. EST.

The performance Saturday wasn't a glowing endorsement for several bubble players who are looking to lock up a spot and a chance to play this Thursday in the team's preseason finale when they host the Carolina Panthers at Heinz Field. Who will make the cut after the September 5th deadline for teams to get their rosters from 75 to 53? We take a look and give you our latest projection.

Quarterback:

Ben Roethlisberger
Michael Vick
Landry Jones

Wide Receiver:

Antonio Brown
Markus Wheaton
Martavis Bryant
Darrius Heyward-Bey
Sammie Coates

Flex Players:

Dri Archer - RB/WR
Will Johnson - FB/TE
Tyler Murphy - WR/QB

Running Backs:

Le'Veon Bell
DeAngelo Williams
Josh Harris

Tight Ends:

Heath Miller
Matt Spaeth
Jesse James

Offensive Line:

Kelvin Beachum
David DeCastro
Maurkice Pouncey (Injured) / Doug Legursky 
Ramon Foster
Marcus Gilbert
Mike Adams (PUP) / Alejandro Villenueva 
Cody Wallace
Chris Hubbard

Defensive Line:

Steve McLendon
Daniel McCullers
Stephon Tuitt
Cameron Heyward
Cam Thomas
L.T. Walton

Outside Linebacker:

Arthur Moats
Jarvis Jones
James Harrison
Bud Dupree
Anthony Chickillo Howard Jones

Inside Linebacker:

Lawrence Timmons
Sean Spence
Ryan Shazier
Vince Williams
Terence Garvin

Cornerback:

William Gay
Antwon Blake
Cortez Allen
Brandon Boykin
Doran Grant
Kevin Fogg

Safety:

Mike Mitchell
Shamarko Thomas
Will Allen
Robert Golden

Specialists:

Garrett Hartley ?????
Greg Warren
Brad Wing Jordan Berry

In this projection the Steelers were forced to make some difficult decisions on many levels. The team decides to go with Howard Jones over Anthony Chickillo for special teams purposes. In the punter position battle, Jordan Berry has just been too good in the preseason to worry about the inconsistencies of Brad Wing for another season. Don't expect this battle to be decided in the September 1st cuts though. Landry Jones making the 53-man roster moves Tyler Murphy off the projected roster, as well as the signing of Doug Legursky bumping Chris Hubbard from the team's final projection.

Other than that, the Steelers haven't had to make too many difficult decisions this preseason as injuries have primarily eliminated several training camp battles. Who might the team sign to the practice squad if they clear waivers? We take a stab at that below.

Practice Squad Prediction:

WR Shakim Phillips
WR Tyler Murphy
OL B.J. Finney
S Gerod Holliman
S/ILB Ian Wild
WR C.J. Goodwin
FB Roosevelt Nix
OL Kevin Whimpey
LB Anthony Chickillo
DL Niko Davis