They drafted RB Kaleb Johnson in the third round in '25, and he was a huge bust his rookie year, so Heidenreich's making the 53 might depend on if they part ways with Johnson after just one year. It's a new regime and some "analysts" are predicting Johnson will be cut or traded.
It's interesting too that Max Hurleman is getting favorable publicity, with some predicting he'll be kept over Eli.
There's so much hype and puffery in training camp it's hard to know how it'll pan out. What the Steelers do with their four quarterbacks is also a big topic -- will Mason Rudolph back up Rodgers or will the far less experienced Will Howard or Drew Allar? The consensus is that either Rudolph or Howard will be cut as few teams keep four QBs and Allar will be the third QB regardless. Maybe Allar having a "convenient" injury and being put on IR is the solution.
What McCarthy does with the White talent on the team, some of it viewed as mere special teams fodder or in the case of Wetjen a kick returner, is still up in the air. I try to be cautiously optimistic but the NFL disappoints every year. If Heidenreich is placed on the practice squad he'll likely be picked up by another team so I'm hoping he sticks and a role develops for him as the season goes along.
BTW, I get Google Alerts on a lot of different players I follow, and I receiver updates on Heidenreich just about every day.
