3 Pittsburgh Steelers playing their way off the 2024 roster

The Pittsburgh Steelers have lost two straight games, which now puts them behind the Houston Texans for the last AFC Wild Card spot. Kenny Pickett is out for at least two to four weeks with an ankle injury, so Mike Tomlin is going to need his team to make minimal mistakes to remain in the playoff hunt.

If everything continues to go south in Pittsburgh, players are going to be losing their spots in the upcoming season. The special teams unit has been a disaster, the snaps have been awful, and the secondary is inconsistent at times.

With all of the bad going on in Pittsburgh, Tomlin still has a shot at getting his team into the postseason. At 7-6, the Steelers can easily still sneak their way in. They need a few players in particular to get going. If the players who haven’t been pulling their weight continue to underperform, they might not be Steelers come 2024.

3 Steelers playing their way off the 2024 roster

3. C, Mason Cole

The 27-year-old center hasn’t been having a great year with the Steelers this season. Mason Cole has had inconsistent snaps all year and even muffed a snap in Week 13. It’s almost as if every week the veteran is struggling with his snaps.

Pittsburgh’s passing game has struggled all season. When Pickett was on the field, he wasn’t tearing things up, but he also wasn’t holding the Steelers back. To say the passing struggles are all on him would be assigning.

There’s no doubt that taking snaps from Cole isn’t fun for a quarterback, as the film shows consistent low snaps from the Steelers center. In 12 games this season, Pickett only has six passing touchdowns, but only four interceptions. If he has a more efficient center, we could see the production increase.

After 13 games this season, PFF has Cole ranked as the 26th-best center in football. With five games left to go, the 27-year-old still has time to get back on track. If he continues to struggle though, Cole might not be spending 2024 in Pittsburgh.