3 Steelers who won’t be on the roster after training camp

1. Zach Gentry, TE

Zach Gentry has been with the Steelers for the past four seasons after the organization selected him in the fifth round of the 2019 NFL Draft. The former Michigan tight end was used sparingly in his first two seasons but has played in all 17 games for the Black and Gold over the past two years, which is probably why Pittsburgh elected to re-sign him in early April.

After making that decision in late free agency, though, the Steelers seemingly put a ticking clock on Gentry’s time in the organization, specifically when the draft rolled along. Though no one expected Georgia’s behemoth tight end Darnell Washington to fall to the middle of the third round, he did — and Pittsburgh jumped at the opportunity to add him to the roster.

With Washington and Gentry, the first factor working against the latter is the limitless potential of the former. The Georgia product is a physical freak with his 6-foot-6, 264-pound frame that is paired with plus athleticism. Though still a bit raw as a pass-catcher, his blocking should be elite for the position right away with the possibility to grow into a near-uncoverable threat in the passing attack.

The bigger factor, though, is that Gentry has not been good in Pittsburgh of late. Last year, he graded out as only the 71st-best tight end in the NFL according to PFF (subscription required). There were only 73 players at the position who qualified.

Given the recent struggles of Gentry and the fact that the Steelers could save roughly $1 million by releasing him before final roster cuts, the arrival of Washington and intriguing other depth like Connor Heyward makes the Michigan product expendable as the roster gets trimmed down.