The Pittsburgh Steelers have reduced their roster down to 53 players on the active roster as well as 16 practice squad players in preparation for the 2024 season. When it comes to the players on the active roster, the positional breakdown in regards to numbers was quite intriguing how the Steelers decided to keep their personnel. One item of note was the Steelers only keeping three true outside linebackers on their roster to begin the season.

First off, it should be noted that I had to say “true” outside linebackers because the Steelers have a fourth option at the position. Defensive end DeMarvin Leal played some on the edge during the preseason and is a viable option should the Steelers need to call him for significant snaps. But when it comes to players who are listed as playing the outside linebacker position, the Steelers only have T.J. Watt, Alex Highsmith, and Nick Herbig on the active roster.

With the Steelers typically keeping anywhere from four to five outside linebackers on the active roster, dipping as low as three or as high as six is not typical but not record-breaking. In fact, the Steelers played the 2018 season with only three outside linebackers, who were the same three players, all but one game of the season. That other game had an outside linebacker come off of injured reserve and play nine snaps before being inactive the rest of the season. The Steelers went into the year with just T.J. Watt, Bud Dupree, and Anthony Chickillo as their outside linebackers with Ola Adeniyi on the Reserve/Injured List. Adeniyi only played nine snaps all season in one game, and the other three players held down the outside linebacker rotation for the rest of the year. T.J. Watt played 86.4% of the snaps while Bud Dupree played 83.1%. Anthony Chickillo was the reserve for both players and played 28.3% of the snaps.

For this year, the Steelers are in a very similar situation with one added benefit. The Steelers have an outside linebacker on injured reserve who is designated to return in Jeremiah Moon. Otherwise, the Steelers have three players on the roster. The additional benefit is having DeMarvin Leal who could be a big part of the rotation if they choose or who could just fill-in if needed.

But is this the right decision for the Steelers?

Personally, I’m a big fan of the three-man rotation at outside linebacker with the Steelers having Nick Herbig coming on strong. Last season, the Steelers saw T.J. Watt play 82.5% of the snap at outside linebacker with Alex Highsmith playing 80.6%. As for the reserves, it was Markus Golden with 20.4% and Nick Herbig with 16.9%. For this year, seeing Herbig absorb all the reserve snaps and getting him closer to the 37% range is something many in Steelers’ Nation would welcome based on his play through the 2024 preseason. The Steelers would not have to increase the snap percentages of T.J. Watt and Alex Highsmith and simply get Nick Herbig on the field even more.

In doing so, something the Steelers will have to manage is making sure that they “short sub” at the position. It would likely be before a player gets too tired that they would have to be substituted out for the first time in the game so both players would not become fatigued at the same time. If the Steelers can manage this, a three-man rotation with players of this caliber would be fantastic. But even if the Steelers have two outside linebackers needing a break at the same time, they still have the option of Leal.

The Steelers Week 1 game against the Atlanta Falcons is still a week away. The 53-man roster could definitely change. The Steelers could add another outside linebacker and this all becomes a moot point. Only having three players at the position does not mean that the Steelers have to make a move like some are expecting. They have done this before and made it work. Additionally, it does not mean DeMarvin Leal has to make a full position change to outside linebacker because it’s the only thing that makes sense. The Steelers could simply be looking to add snaps for Nick Herbig in 2024 and the right special teams addition at the position as a final player did not present itself.

It would be surprising if the Steelers went the entire season with only three players getting snaps at the outside linebacker position. But it’s also not impossible for them to do. To start the year, this is not a bad plan as it could make the Steelers the best edge rushing threesome in the NFL.